Phenomenology of an Open Effective Field Theory of Dark Energy

TL;DR

This paper develops a minimal open effective field theory model for dark energy, fitting observational data and predicting testable deviations from standard cosmology, including effects on gravitational waves and structure formation.

Contribution

It introduces a concrete open-system gravitational model for dark energy that aligns with observations and makes new, testable predictions for cosmological phenomena.

Findings

Good fit to baryon acoustic oscillation data

Predicts a dissipative suppression of gravitational-wave luminosity distance

Shows modifications in gravitational slip and structure formation

Abstract

All observational evidence for dark matter and dark energy is so far exclusively gravitational. Hence, the dark sector may be equivalently described by a theory of the spacetime metric whose dynamics is affected by interactions with an unknown environment. Adapting open-system techniques, we have recently constructed such a general theory of open gravitational dynamics. Here we study a minimal and concrete realization of this theory that describes the late-time acceleration of the Universe. Our model provides a good fit to recent baryon acoustic oscillation measurements by construction, while avoiding violations of the null energy condition. Moreover, it leads to a set of correlated and observationally testable predictions. Studying the modified cosmological perturbation theory and compared to the $\Lambda$CDM model we find: a dissipative suppression of the gravitational-wave luminosity distance relative to the electromagnetic one; a modification in the evolution of the Bardeen potentials with a clear signal in the gravitational slip; and an enhancement of structure formation at low redshift. We present semi-analytical estimates of the magnitude of these effects and show that they lie within the reach of current constraints while providing clear targets for upcoming cosmological surveys.