Probing Dark Energy on the Moon

Fuente: arXiv
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Auteurs principaux: Gurrola, Alfredo, Scherrer, Robert J., Trivedi, Oem
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2026
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author Gurrola, Alfredo
Scherrer, Robert J.
Trivedi, Oem
author_facet Gurrola, Alfredo
Scherrer, Robert J.
Trivedi, Oem
contents The effective field theory (EFT) of cosmic acceleration provides a model-independent framework for describing dark energy and modified gravity, yet many of its defining operators remain weakly constrained by existing observations. We show that measurements of horizon-scale metric fluctuations with a lunar laser interferometer can directly probe the kinetic sector of the EFT of dark energy, enabling constraints on operators governing scalar perturbation dynamics rather than only the background expansion history. In particular, we demonstrate sensitivity to the EFT kinetic coefficient $M_2^4$ and the associated sound speed of dark energy, $c_s^2$. This establishes a qualitatively new observational handle on the microphysical consistency conditions of late-time acceleration models, allowing broad regions of EFT parameter space to be probed, constrained, or potentially discovered.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_04841
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Probing Dark Energy on the Moon
Gurrola, Alfredo
Scherrer, Robert J.
Trivedi, Oem
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
High Energy Physics - Theory
The effective field theory (EFT) of cosmic acceleration provides a model-independent framework for describing dark energy and modified gravity, yet many of its defining operators remain weakly constrained by existing observations. We show that measurements of horizon-scale metric fluctuations with a lunar laser interferometer can directly probe the kinetic sector of the EFT of dark energy, enabling constraints on operators governing scalar perturbation dynamics rather than only the background expansion history. In particular, we demonstrate sensitivity to the EFT kinetic coefficient $M_2^4$ and the associated sound speed of dark energy, $c_s^2$. This establishes a qualitatively new observational handle on the microphysical consistency conditions of late-time acceleration models, allowing broad regions of EFT parameter space to be probed, constrained, or potentially discovered.
title Probing Dark Energy on the Moon
topic Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
High Energy Physics - Theory
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.04841