Abstract
Imagine a scenario in which the dark energy forms via the condensation of dark matter at some low redshift. The Compton wavelength therefore changes from small to very large at the transition, unlike quintessence or metamorphosis. We study cosmic microwave background (CMB), large scale structure, supernova and radio galaxy constraints on condensation by performing a four parameter likelihood analysis over the Hubble constant and the three parameters associated with Q, the condensate field: Omega(Q), w(f) and z(t) (energy density and equation of state today, and redshift of transition). Condensation roughly interpolates between LambdaCDM (for large z(t)) and SCDM (low z(t)) and provides a slightly better fit to the data than LambdaCDM. We confirm that there is no degeneracy in the CMB between H and z(t) and discuss the implications of late-time transitions for the Lyman-alpha forest. Finally we discuss the nonlinear phase of both condensation and metamorphosis, which is much more interesting than in standard quintessence models.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 043504 |
Number of pages | 1 |
Journal | Physical Review D (Particles, Fields, Gravitation and Cosmology) |
Volume | 68 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Aug 2003 |