Inhomogeneous cosmologies with Q-matter and varying $\Lambda$

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates how inhomogeneous cosmological models with scalar fields, fluids, and variable cosmological terms can evolve into the observed homogeneous accelerated universe, proposing a quintessence-driven inflation scenario.

Contribution

It introduces a model combining scalar fields, fluids, and variable cosmological terms to explain the universe's transition to accelerated expansion, including a quintessence inflation scenario.

Findings

The model achieves a transition to accelerated expansion consistent with observations.

A late-time power-law inflation scenario is proposed with string-motivated potentials.

The approach links inhomogeneous models to the current homogeneous universe.

Abstract

Starting from the inhomogeneous shear--free Nariai metric we show, by solving the Einstein--Klein--Gordon field equations, how a self--interacting scalar field plus a material fluid, a variable cosmological term and a heat flux can drive the universe to its currently observed state of homogeneous accelerated expansion. A quintessence scenario where power-law inflation takes place for a string-motivated potential in the late--time dominated field regime is proposed.