Quintessence Unification Models from Non-Abelian Gauge Dynamics

We show that the condensates of a non-abelian gauge group, unified with the standard model gauge groups, can parameterize the present day cosmological constant and play the role of quintessence. The models agree with SN1a and recent CMB analysis. These models have {\it no free} parameters. Even the initial energy density at the unification scale and at the condensation scale are fixed by the number of degrees of freedom of the gauge group (i.e. by $N_c, N_f$). The values of $N_c, N_f$ are determined by imposing gauge coupling unification and the number of models is quite limited. Using Affleck-Dine-Seiberg superpotential one obtains a scalar potential V=\Lm_c^{4+n}\phi^{-n}. Models with $2<n<4.27$ or equivalently 2\times 10^{-2} GeV < \Lm_c < 6 \times 10^3 GeV do not satisfy the unification constrain. In fact, there are only three models and they have an inverse power potential with $6/11 \leq n \leq 2/3$. Imposing primordial nucleosynthesis bounds the preferred model has $N_c=3, N_f=6$, with $n=2/3$, a condensation scale \Lm_c=4.2\times 10^{-8} GeV and \wpo=-0.90 with an average value \weff=-0.93. Notice that the tracker solution is not a good approximation since it has w_{tr}=-\fr{2}{n+2}=-0.75 for $n=2/3$. We study the evolution of all fields from the unification scale and we calculate the relevant cosmological quantities. We also discuss the supersymmetry breaking mechanism which is relevant for these models.Comment: 18 pages, LaTeX, 3 figures, minor changes, subsections added (for presentation purpose

The Fate of the Universe: Dark Energy Dilution?

We study the possibility that dark energy decays in the future and the universe stops accelerating. The fact thatthe cosmological observations prefer an equation of state of dark energy smaller than -1 can be a signal that dark energy will decay in the future. This conclusion is based in interpreting a w<-1 as a signal of dark energy interaction with another fluid. We determine the interaction through the cosmological data and extrapolate it into the future. The resulting energy density for dark energy becomes rho=a^{-3(1+w)}e^{-\beta(a-1)}, i.e. it has an exponential suppression for a >> a_o=1. In this scenario the universe ends up dominated by this other fluid, which could be matter, and the universe stops accelerating at some time in the near future.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Probing a Steep EoS for Dark Energy with latest observations

We present a parametrization for the Dark Energy Equation of State "EoS" which has a rich structure, performing a transition at pivotal redshift $z_T$ between the present day value $w_0$ to an early time $w_i=w_a+w_0\equiv w(z\gg0)$ with a steepness given in terms of $q$ parameter. The proposed parametrization is $w=w_0+w_a(z/z_T)^q/(1+(z/z_T))^q$, with $w_0$, $w_i$, $q$ and $z_T$ constant parameters. It reduces to the widely used EoS $w=w_0+w_a(1-a)$ for $z_T=q=1$. This transition is motivated by scalar field dynamics such as for example quintessence models. We study if a late time transition is favored by BAO measurements combined with local determination of $H_0$ and information from the CMB. According to our results, an EoS with a present value of $w_0 = -0.92$ and a high redshift value $w_i =-0.99$, featuring a transition at $z_T = 0.28$ with an exponent $q = 9.97$ was favored by data coming from local dynamics of the Universe (BAO combined with $H_0$ determination). We find that a dynamical DE model allows to simultaneously fit $H_0$ from local determinations and Planck CMB measurements, alleviating the tension obtained in a $\Lambda$CDM model. Additionally to this analysis we solved numerically the evolution of matter over-densities in the presence of dark energy both at background level and when its perturbations were considered. We show that the presence of a steep transition in the DE EoS gets imprinted into the evolution of matter overdensities and that the addition of an effective sound speed term does not erase such feature.Comment: 10 pages, 12 figures and 3 tables. This article draws heavily from arXiv:1604.0144

Inflation from superstrings

We investigate the possibility of obtaining inflationary solutions of the slow roll type from a low energy Lagrangian coming from superstrings. The advantage of such an approach is that in these theories the scalar potential has only one free parameter (the Planck scale) and therefore no unnatural fine tuning may be accommodated. We find that in any viable scheme the dilaton and the moduli fields have to be stabilized and that before this happens, no other field may be used as the inflaton. Then inflation may occur due to chiral matter fields. Demanding that the potential terms associated with the chiral fields do not spoil the dilaton and moduli minimization leads to severe constraints on the magnitude of the density fluctuations.Comment: 22 pages, no figures, latex file We have corrected the magnitude of the density fluctuations, which become smaller than the COBE ones. Some references have also been added, and a few misprints correcte

A Realistic Particle Physics Dark Energy Model

We present a realistic dark energy model derived from particle physics. Our model has essentially no free parameters and has an equivalent fit to the observational data (CMB, SN1a and LSS) as LCDM and a better fit than the best effective $w(z)$ model. With the lack of a clear determination of the cosmological parameters theoretical considerations should be taken seriously to distinguish between dark energy models.Comment: 5 pages, RevTex, 6 figure

Interacting Tachyon: generic cosmological evolution for a tachyon and a scalar field

We study the cosmological evolution of a tachyon scalar field T with a Dirac-Born-Infeld type lagrangian and potential V(T) coupled to a canonically normalized scalar field \phi with an arbitrary interaction term B(T,\phi) in the presence of a barotropic fluid \rb, which can be matter or radiation. The force between the barotropic fluid and the scalar fields is only gravitational. We show that the dynamics is completely determine by only three parameters L1 = - V_T/ V^{3/2}, L2= - B_T /B^{3/2} and L3 =-B_{\phi}/B. We determine analytically theconditions for \lm_i under which the energy density of T, \phi and \rb have the same redshift. We study the behavior of T and \phi in the asymptotic limits for L_i and we show the numerical solution for different interesting cases. The effective equation of state for the tachyon field changes due to the interaction with the scalar field and we show that it is possible for a tachyon field to redshift as matter in the absence of an interaction term B and as radiation when B is turned on. This result solves then the tachyonic matter problem.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figure