Dark energy driven by an oscillating generalised axion-like quintessence field

TL;DR

This paper investigates the behavior of oscillating axion-like scalar fields as dark energy, developing a new perturbation framework to understand their effects on cosmic structure growth.

Contribution

It introduces a field-based perturbation approach for oscillating dark energy, surpassing the limitations of the effective fluid description.

Findings

Standard fluid approximation fails during oscillations.

Developed a consistent perturbation framework for oscillating scalar fields.

Assessed impact on cosmic structure formation.

Abstract

Generalised axion-like scalar fields provide a well-motivated framework for describing the late-time acceleration of the Universe. As the field evolves, it rolls down its potential and, depending on its mass and initial conditions, it may either still be approaching the minimum or already oscillating around it. These two dynamical regimes require distinct treatments of cosmological perturbations. In this work, we perform a detailed analysis of linear cosmological perturbations in the regime where the dark-energy scalar field undergoes coherent oscillations about the minimum of its potential. We show that the standard effective fluid description breaks down in this phase and develop a consistent field-based perturbation framework, which we use to assess the impact of oscillatory dark energy on the growth of cosmic structures.