Coupled dark energy: a dynamical analysis with complex scalar field

The dynamical analysis for coupled dark energy with dark matter is presented, where a complex scalar field is taken into account and it is considered in the presence of a barothropic fluid. We consider three dark energy candidates: quintessence, phantom and tachyon. The critical points are found and their stabilities analyzed, leading to the three cosmological eras (radiation, matter and dark energy), for a generic potential. The results presented here enlarge the previous analyses found in the literature.Comment: 9 pages, version accepted for publication in EPJC. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1505.0324

Dynamical analysis for a vector-like dark energy

In this paper we perform a dynamical analysis for a vector field as a candidate for the dark energy, in the presence of a barothropic fluid. The vector is one component of the so-called cosmic triad, which is a set of three identical copies of an abelian field pointing mutually in orthogonal directions. In order to generalize the analysis, we also assumed the interaction between dark energy and the barotropic fluid, with a phenomenological coupling. Both matter and dark energy eras can be successfully described by the critical points, indicating that the dynamical system theory is a viable tool to analyze asymptotic states of such cosmological models.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, version to appear in EPJ

Cosmological tracking solution and the Super-Higgs mechanism

In this paper we argue that minimal supergravity with flat K\"ahler metric and a power-law superpotential can relate the Super-Higgs mechanism for the local spontaneous supersymmetry breaking and the cosmological tracking solution, leading in turn to a late-time accelerated expansion of the universe and alleviating the coincidence problem.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure, minor corrections, to appear in EPJ

Fat brane, dark matter and localized kinetic terms in six dimensions

Extra dimensions (ED) have been used as attempts to explain several phenomena in particle physics over the years. In this paper we investigate the role of an abelian gauge field as mediator of the interaction between dark matter (DM) and Standard Model (SM) particles, in a model with two flat and transverse ED compactified on the chiral square. DM is confined in a thin brane, localized at the origin of the chiral square, while the SM is localized in a finite width brane, lying in the opposite corner of the square. A brane-localized kinetic term is present in the DM brane, while in the fat brane it is not allowed. In this model the kinetic mixing is not required because we assume that the SM particles couple to the mediator through their $B-L$ charges, while DM couples to it via a dark charge. Assuming a complex scalar field as DM candidate it is possible to obtain the observed DM relic abundance and avoid direct detection constraints for some parameter choices.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures, 2 tables, references added, version accepted for publication in EPJ

Dark photon dark matter and fast radio bursts

The nature of dark matter (DM) is still a mystery that may indicate the necessity for extensions of the Standard Model (SM). Light dark photons (DP) may comprise partially or entirely the observed DM density and existing limits on the DP DM parameter space arise from several cosmological and astrophysical sources. In the present work we investigate DP DM using cosmic transients, specifically fast radio bursts (FRBs). The observed time delay of radio photons with different energies have been used to constrain the photon mass or the Weak Equivalence Principle, for example. Due to the mixing between the visible and the DP, the time delay of photons from these cosmic transients, caused by free electrons in the intergalactic medium, can change and impact those constraints from FRBs. We use five detected FRBs and two associations of FRBs with gamma-ray bursts to investigate the correspondent variation on the time delay caused by the presence of DP DM. The result is virtually independent of the FRB used and this variation is very small, considering the still allowed DP DM parameter space, not jeopardizing current bounds on other contributions of the observed time delay.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, 1 table, references added, version accepted for publication in EPJ

Interacting Dark Energy: Possible Explanation for 21-cm Absorption at Cosmic Dawn

A recent observation points to an excess in the expected 21-cm brightness temperature from cosmic dawn. In this paper, we present an alternative explanation of this phenomenon, an interaction in the dark sector. Interacting dark energy models have been extensively studied recently and there is a whole variety of such in the literature. Here we particularize to a specific model in order to make explicit the effect of an interaction.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures. Discussion improved, new references, conclusions unchanged. Accepted in EPJ