Voids of dark energy

TL;DR

This paper studies how a dynamical dark energy component, modeled as a scalar field, forms voids in response to matter clustering, offering potential observational tests to distinguish it from a cosmological constant.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of dark energy void formation and their observational implications, advancing understanding of dynamical dark energy models.

Findings

Scalar field forms underdensities in response to matter collapse

Dark energy voids can be distinguished from cosmological constant

Detection of voids would challenge the cosmological constant model

Abstract

We investigate the clustering properties of a dynamical dark energy component. In a cosmic mix of a pressureless fluid and a light scalar field, we follow the linear evolution of spherical matter perturbations. We find that the scalar field tends to form underdensities in response to the gravitationally collapsing matter. We thoroughly investigate these voids for a variety of initial conditions, explain the physics behind their formation and consider possible observational implications. Detection of dark energy voids will clearly rule out the cosmological constant as the main source of the present acceleration.