Metastable dark energy

Author(s)

Landim, Ricardo G. ; Abdalla, Elcio

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Physics Letters B; v. 764, p. 271-276, JAN 10 2017.
• Web of Science Citations: 11

Abstract

We build a model of metastable dark energy, in which the observed vacuum energy is the value of the scalar potential at the false vacuum. The scalar potential is given by a sum of even self-interactions up to order six. The deviation from the Minkowski vacuum is due to a term suppressed by the Planck scale. The decay time of the metastable vacuum can easily accommodate a mean life time compatible with the age of the universe. The metastable dark energy is also embedded into a model with SU(2)(R) symmetry. The dark energy doublet and the dark matter doublet naturally interact with each other. A three-body decay of the dark energy particle into (cold and warm) dark matter can be as long as large fraction of the age of the universe, if the mediator is massive enough, the lower bound being at intermediate energy level some orders below the grand unification scale. Such a decay shows a different form of interaction between dark matter and dark energy, and the model opens a new window to investigate the dark sector from the point-of-view of particle physics. (C) 2016 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 11/18729-1 - Gravitation and cosmology: structural questions and applications
• Grantee: Elcio Abdalla
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants
• FAPESP's process: 13/10242-1 - Dark sector’s cosmology and the 21 cm line
• Grantee: Ricardo Cesar Giorgetti Landim
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate