Axion Phantom Energy

TL;DR

This paper explores a theoretical model linking phantom energy, which could lead to a big rip universe, with an axionic tensor field, providing explicit expressions and implications for the universe's fate.

Contribution

It introduces a novel interpretation of phantom energy via a rank-three axionic tensor field within a quintessence framework, connecting field theory with cosmological observations.

Findings

Explicit expressions for axionic field and potential diverge at the big rip.

Phantom-energy dominance is predicted to begin at the present epoch.

The model aligns with current observational constraints.

Abstract

The existence of phantom energy in a universe which evolves to eventually show a big rip doomsday is a possibility which is not excluded by present observational constraints. In this letter it is argued that the field theory associated with a simple quintessence model is compatible with a field definition which is interpretable in terms of a rank-three axionic tensor field, whenever we consider a perfect-fluid equation of state that corresponds to the phantom energy regime. Explicit expressions for the axionic field and its potential, both in terms of an imaginary scalar field, are derived which show that these quantities both diverge at the big rip, and that the onset of phantom-energy dominance must take place just at present.