New quantum aspects of a vacuum-dominated universe

TL;DR

This paper presents a new model where nonperturbative vacuum effects of a massive scalar field lead to a constant scalar curvature universe, explaining cosmic acceleration and fitting supernova data without a cosmological constant.

Contribution

The paper introduces a novel nonperturbative vacuum contribution model that explains late-time cosmic acceleration and fits observational data without requiring a cosmological constant.

Findings

The model predicts a transition in the equation of state at redshift z~1.

Particle production rate aligns with other methods and remains small.

The vacuum effects do not significantly alter early universe cosmology.

Abstract

In a new model that we proposed, nonperturbative vacuum contributions to the effective action of a free quantized massive scalar field lead to a cosmological solution in which the scalar curvature becomes constant after a time $t_j$ (when the redshift $z \sim 1$) that depends on the mass of the scalar field and its curvature coupling. This spatially-flat solution implies an accelerating universe at the present time and gives a good one-parameter fit to high-redshift Type Ia supernovae (SNe-Ia) data, and the present age and energy density of the universe. Here we show that the imaginary part of the nonperturbative curvature term that causes the cosmological acceleration, implies a particle production rate that agrees with predictions of other methods and extends them to non-zero mass fields. The particle production rate is very small after the transition and is not expected to alter the nature of the cosmological solution. We also show that the equation of state of our model undergoes a transition at $t_j$ from an equation of state dominated by non-relativistic pressureless matter (without a cosmological constant) to an effective equation of state of mixed radiation and cosmological constant, and we derive the equation of state of the vacuum. Finally, we explain why nonperturbative vacuum effects of this ultralow-mass particle do not significantly change standard early universe cosmology.