Rapidly descending dark energy and the end of cosmic expansion
Abstract
If dark energy is a form of quintessence driven by a scalar field $$\phi$$ evolving down a monotonically decreasing potential V($$\phi$$) that passes sufficiently below zero, the universe is destined to undergo a series of smooth transitions. The currently observed accelerated expansion will cease; soon thereafter, expansion will come to end altogether; and the universe will pass into a phase of slow contraction. In this paper, we consider how short the remaining period of expansion can be given current observational constraints on dark energy. We also discuss how this scenario fits naturally with cyclic cosmologies and recent conjectures about quantum gravity.
- Authors:
-
[1]
- Department of Physics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544
- Department of Physics, Center for Cosmology and Particle Physics, New York University, New York, NY 10003
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Princeton Univ., NJ (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC); Simons Foundation
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1861146
- Alternate Identifier(s):
- OSTI ID: 1904591; OSTI ID: 1997834
- Grant/Contract Number:
- DEFG02-91ER40671; FG02-91ER40671; 663083; 654561; SC0007968
- Resource Type:
- Published Article
- Journal Name:
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Name: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Journal Volume: 119 Journal Issue: 15; Journal ID: ISSN 0027-8424
- Publisher:
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSICS
Citation Formats
Andrei, Cosmin, Ijjas, Anna, and Steinhardt, Paul J. Rapidly descending dark energy and the end of cosmic expansion. United States: N. p., 2022.
Web. doi:10.1073/pnas.2200539119.
Andrei, Cosmin, Ijjas, Anna, & Steinhardt, Paul J. Rapidly descending dark energy and the end of cosmic expansion. United States. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2200539119
Andrei, Cosmin, Ijjas, Anna, and Steinhardt, Paul J. Tue .
"Rapidly descending dark energy and the end of cosmic expansion". United States. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2200539119.
@article{osti_1861146,
title = {Rapidly descending dark energy and the end of cosmic expansion},
author = {Andrei, Cosmin and Ijjas, Anna and Steinhardt, Paul J.},
abstractNote = {If dark energy is a form of quintessence driven by a scalar field $\phi$ evolving down a monotonically decreasing potential V($\phi$) that passes sufficiently below zero, the universe is destined to undergo a series of smooth transitions. The currently observed accelerated expansion will cease; soon thereafter, expansion will come to end altogether; and the universe will pass into a phase of slow contraction. In this paper, we consider how short the remaining period of expansion can be given current observational constraints on dark energy. We also discuss how this scenario fits naturally with cyclic cosmologies and recent conjectures about quantum gravity.},
doi = {10.1073/pnas.2200539119},
journal = {Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America},
number = 15,
volume = 119,
place = {United States},
year = {Tue Apr 05 00:00:00 EDT 2022},
month = {Tue Apr 05 00:00:00 EDT 2022}
}
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https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2200539119
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