Model for a Universe described by a non-minimally coupled scalar field and interacting dark matter

Abstract

In this work it is investigated the evolution of a Universe where a scalar field, non-minimally coupled to space-time curvature, plays the role of quintessence and drives the Universe to a present accelerated expansion. A non-relativistic dark matter constituent that interacts directly with dark energy is also considered, where the dark matter particle mass is assumed to be proportional to the value of the scalar field. Two models for dark matter pressure are considered: the usual one, pressureless, and another that comes from a thermodynamic theory and relates the pressure with the coupling between the scalar field and the curvature scalar. Although the model has a strong dependence on the initial conditions, it is shown that the mixture consisted of dark components plus baryonic matter and radiation can reproduce the expected red-shift behavior of the deceleration parameter, density parameters and luminosity distance.Comment: 11 pages and 6 figures. To appear in GR