Dark-energy equation of state: how far can we go from \Lambda?

A cosmological constant, Lambda, is the most natural candidate to explain the origin of the dark energy (DE) component in the Universe. However, due to experimental evidence that the equation of state (EOS) of the DE could be evolving with time/redshift (including the possibility that it might behave phantom-like near our time) has led theorists to emphasize that there might be a dynamical field (or some suitable combination of them) that could explain the behavior of the DE....

In the contemporary Cosmology, dark energy is modeled as a perfect fluid, having a very simple equation of state: pressure is proportional to dark energy density. As an alternative, I propose a more complex equation of state, with pressure being function of three variables: dark energy density, matter density and the size of the Universe. One consequence of the new equation is that, in the late-time Universe, cosmological scale factor is linear function of time; while the sta...

The phenomenon of the dark energy transition between the quintessence regime ($w > -1$) and the phantom regime ($w < -1$), also known as the cosmological constant boundary crossing, is analyzed in terms of the dark energy equation of state. It is found that the dark energy equation of state in the dark energy models which exhibit the transition is {\em implicitly} defined. The generalizations of the the models explicitly constructed to exhibit the transition are studied to ga...

We discuss the intriguing possibility that dark energy may change its equation of state in situations where large dark energy fluctuations are present. We show indications of this dynamical mutation in some generic models of dark energy.

The dark energy crossing of the cosmological constant boundary (the transition between the quintessence and phantom regimes) is described in terms of the implicitly defined dark energy equation of state. The generalizations of the models explicitly constructed to exhibit the crossing provide the insight into the cancellation mechanism which makes the transition possible.

Observational evidence indicating that the expansion of the universe is accelerating has surprised cosmologists in recent years. Cosmological models have sought to explain this acceleration by incorporating `dark energy', of which the traditional cosmological constant is just one possible candidate. Several cosmological models involving an evolving equation of state of the dark energy have been proposed, as well as possible energy exchange to other components, such as dark ma...

The consensus of opinion in cosmology is that the Universe is currently undergoing a period of accelerated expansion. With current and proposed high precision experiments it offers the hope of being able to discriminate between the two competing models that are being suggested to explain the observations, namely a cosmological constant or a time dependent `Quintessence' model. The latter suffers from a plethora of scalar field potentials all leading to similar late time behav...

The cosmological constant ($\Lambda$), i.e., the energy density stored in the true vacuum state of all existing fields in the Universe, is the simplest and the most natural possibility to describe the current cosmic acceleration. However, despite its observational successes, such a possibility exacerbates the well known $\Lambda$ problem, requiring a natural explanation for its small, but nonzero, value. In this paper we discuss how different our Universe may be from the $\La...

A general equation of state is considered for analysing the possible behaviors for (Early) dark energy that alleviates the Hubble parameter tension problem. By departing from the possible evolution for the (Early) dark energy density and the corresponding dynamical equations, the equation of state is obtained, which allow us to analyze qualitatively the cosmological evolution and the dominance of each term in the equation of state along the cosmic expansion, which show some i...

We explore the properties of dark energy models for which the equation-of-state, w, defined as the ratio of pressure to energy density, crosses the cosmological-constant boundary w = -1. We adopt an empirical approach, treating the dark energy as an uncoupled fluid or a generalized scalar field. We describe the requirements for a viable model, in terms of the equation-of-state and sound speed. A generalized scalar field cannot safely traverse w = -1, although a pair of scalar...