Discretely Evanescent Dark Energy

TL;DR

This paper introduces a UV-complete dark energy model based on flux discharge in a hidden gauge sector, leading to a transient, discretely decreasing dark energy that could halt cosmic acceleration.

Contribution

It presents a novel dark energy model using top form flux discharge in a hidden sector, distinct from cosmological constant or scalar field approaches.

Findings

Dark energy decays discretely via membrane nucleation.

Decay rate is comparable to current Hubble scale.

Dark energy may cease, ending cosmic acceleration.

Abstract

We propose a new UV-complete dark energy model which is \underbar{\it neither} a cosmological constant nor a slowly rolling scalar field. Our dark energy is the flux of a top form in a hidden sector gauge theory similar to QCD. The top form controls the vacuum energy generated by dark sector CP violation. Its flux discharges by the nucleation of membranes that source it. The tension and charge of the membranes are set by the chiral symmetry breaking scale $\sim 10^{-3} eV$, and the dark energy is a transient. It decays on the order of the current age of the universe. The decays decrease dark energy discretely and randomly, instead of gradually like rolling scalars. Since the decay rate is close to the present Hubble scale, $\Gamma \ga H_0^4$, in a time $\sim {\cal O}(1/H_0)$ the cosmic acceleration may even cease altogether.