Comparing Minimal and Non-Minimal Quintessence Models to 2025 DESI Data
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| Format: | Preprint |
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2025
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| author | Adam, Husam Hertzberg, Mark P. Jiménez-Aguilar, Daniel Khan, Iman |
| author_facet | Adam, Husam Hertzberg, Mark P. Jiménez-Aguilar, Daniel Khan, Iman |
| contents | In this work we examine the 2025 DESI analysis of dark energy, which suggests that dark energy is evolving in time with an increasing equation of state $w$. We explore a wide range of quintessence models, described by a potential function $V(φ)$, including: quadratic potentials, quartic hilltops, double wells, cosine functions, Gaussians, inverse powers. We find that while some provide improvement in fitting to the data, compared to a cosmological constant, the improvement is only modest. We then consider non-minimally coupled scalars which can help fit the data by providing an effective equation of state that temporarily obeys $w<-1$ and then relaxes to $w>-1$. Since the scalar is very light, this leads to a fifth force and to time evolution in the effective gravitational strength, which are both tightly constrained by tests of gravity. For a very narrow range of carefully selected non-minimal couplings we are able to evade these bounds, but not for generic values. |
| format | Preprint |
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arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2509_13302 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Comparing Minimal and Non-Minimal Quintessence Models to 2025 DESI Data Adam, Husam Hertzberg, Mark P. Jiménez-Aguilar, Daniel Khan, Iman Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology High Energy Physics - Phenomenology High Energy Physics - Theory In this work we examine the 2025 DESI analysis of dark energy, which suggests that dark energy is evolving in time with an increasing equation of state $w$. We explore a wide range of quintessence models, described by a potential function $V(φ)$, including: quadratic potentials, quartic hilltops, double wells, cosine functions, Gaussians, inverse powers. We find that while some provide improvement in fitting to the data, compared to a cosmological constant, the improvement is only modest. We then consider non-minimally coupled scalars which can help fit the data by providing an effective equation of state that temporarily obeys $w<-1$ and then relaxes to $w>-1$. Since the scalar is very light, this leads to a fifth force and to time evolution in the effective gravitational strength, which are both tightly constrained by tests of gravity. For a very narrow range of carefully selected non-minimal couplings we are able to evade these bounds, but not for generic values. |
| title | Comparing Minimal and Non-Minimal Quintessence Models to 2025 DESI Data |
| topic | Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology High Energy Physics - Phenomenology High Energy Physics - Theory |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.13302 |