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Di Valentino, E., Melchiorri, A., & Mena, O. (2017). Can interacting dark energy solve the H-0 tension? Phys. Rev. D, 96(4), 043503–11pp.
Abstract: The answer is yes. We indeed find that interacting dark energy can alleviate the current tension on the value of the Hubble constant H-0 between the cosmic microwave background anisotropies constraints obtained from the Planck satellite and the recent direct measurements reported by Riess et al. 2016. The combination of these two data sets points toward a nonzero dark matter-dark energy coupling. at more than two standard deviations, with xi = -0.26(-0.12)(+0.16) at 95% C.L., i.e. with a moderate evidence for interacting dark energy with an odds ratio of 6:1 respect to a non interacting cosmological constant. However the H-0 tension is better solved when the equation of state of the interacting dark energy component is allowed to freely vary, with a phantomlike equation of state w = -1.185 +/- 0.064 (at 68% C.L.), ruling out the pure cosmological constant case, w = -1, again at more than two standard deviations. When Planck data are combined with external datasets, as BAO, JLA Supernovae Ia luminosity distances, cosmic shear or lensing data, we find perfect consistency with the cosmological constant scenario and no compelling evidence for a dark matter-dark energy coupling.
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Yang, W. Q., Mena, O., Pan, S., & Di Valentino, E. (2019). Dark sectors with dynamical coupling. Phys. Rev. D, 100(8), 083509–11pp.
Abstract: Coupled dark matter-dark energy scenarios arc modeled via a dimensionless parameter xi, which controls the strength of their interaction. While this coupling is commonly assumed to be constant, there is no underlying physical law or symmetry that forbids a time-dependent xi parameter. The most general and complete interacting scenarios between the two dark sectors should therefore allow for such a possibility, and it is the main purpose of this study to constrain two possible and well-motivated coupled cosmologies by means of the most recent and accurate early- and late-time universe observations. We find that CMB data alone prefer xi(z) > 0 and therefore a smaller amount of dark matter, alleviating some crucial and well-known cosmological data tensions. An objective assessment of the Bayesian evidence for the coupled models explored here shows no particular preference for the presence of a dynamical dark sector coupling.
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Di Valentino, E., Melchiorri, A., Mena, O., & Vagnozzi, S. (2020). Nonminimal dark sector physics and cosmological tensions. Phys. Rev. D, 101(6), 063502–20pp.
Abstract: We explore whether nonstandard dark sector physics might be required to solve the existing cosmological tensions. The properties we consider in combination are (a) an interaction between the dark matter and dark energy components and (b) a dark energy equation of state w different from that of the canonical cosmological constant w = -1. In principle, these two parameters are independent. In practice, to avoid early-time, superhorizon instabilities, their allowed parameter spaces are correlated. Moreover, a clear degeneracy exists between these two parameters in the case of cosmic microwave background (CMB) data. We analyze three classes of extended interacting dark energy models in light of the 2019 Planck CMB results and Cepheid-calibrated local distance ladder H-0 measurements of Riess et al. (R19), as well as recent baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) and type Ia supernovae (SNeIa) distance data. We find that in quintessence coupled dark energy models, where w > -1, the evidence for a nonzero coupling between the two dark sectors can surpass the 5 sigma significance. Moreover, for both Planck + BAO or Planck + SNeIa, we find a preference for w > -1 at about three standard deviations. Quintessence models are, therefore, in excellent agreement with current data when an interaction is considered. On the other hand, in phantom coupled dark energy models, there is no such preference for a nonzero dark sector coupling. All the models we consider significantly raise the value of the Hubble constant, easing the H-0 tension. In the interacting scenario, the disagreement between Planck thorn BAO and R19 is considerably reduced from 4.3 sigma in the case of the Lambda cold dark matter (Lambda CDM) model to about 2.5 sigma. The addition of low-redshift BAO and SNeIa measurements leaves, therefore, some residual tension with R19 but at a level that could be justified by a statistical fluctuation. Bayesian evidence considerations mildly disfavor both the coupled quintessence and phantom models, while mildly favoring a coupled vacuum scenario, even when late-time datasets are considered. We conclude that nonminimal dark energy cosmologies, such as coupled quintessence, phantom, or vacuum models, are still an interesting route toward softening existing cosmological tensions, even when low-redshift datasets and Bayesian evidence considerations are taken into account.
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Yang, W. Q., Di Valentino, E., Mena, O., Pan, S., & Nunes, R. C. (2020). All-inclusive interacting dark sector cosmologies. Phys. Rev. D, 101(8), 083509–15pp.
Abstract: In this paper we explore possible extensions of interacting dark energy cosmologies, where dark energy and dark matter interact nongravitationally with one another. In particular, we focus on the neutrino sector, analyzing the effect of both neutrino masses and the effective number of neutrino species. We consider the Planck 2018 legacy release data combined with several other cosmological probes, finding no evidence for new physics in the dark radiation sector. The current neutrino constraints from cosmology should therefore be regarded as robust, as they are not strongly dependent on the dark sector physics, once all the available observations are combined. Namely, we find a total neutrino mass g, < 0.15 eV and a number of effective relativistic degrees of freedom N-eff = 3.03(-0.33)(+0.33), both at 95% C.L., which are close to those obtained within the ACDM cosmology, M-v < 0.12 eV and N-eff = (+0.36)(-0.35), for the same data combination.
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Yang, W. Q., Di Valentino, E., Mena, O., & Pan, S. (2020). Dynamical dark sectors and neutrino masses and abundances. Phys. Rev. D, 102(2), 023535–17pp.
Abstract: We investigate generalized interacting dark matter-dark energy scenarios with a time-dependent coupling parameter, allowing also for freedom in the neutrino sector. The models are tested in the phantom and quintessence regimes, characterized by equations of state, w(x) < -1 and w(x) > -1, respectively. Our analyses show that for some of the scenarios, the existing tensions on the Hubble constant H-0 and on the clustering parameter S-8 can be significantly alleviated. The relief is either due to (a) a dark energy component which lies within the phantom region or (b) the presence of a dynamical coupling in quintessence scenarios. The inclusion of massive neutrinos into the interaction schemes does not affect either the constraints on the cosmological parameters or the bounds on the total number or relativistic degrees of freedom N-eff, which are found to be extremely robust and, in general, strongly consistent with the canonical prediction N-eff = 3.045. The most stringent bound on the total neutrino mass M-nu is M-nu, < 0.116 eV and it is obtained within a quintessence scenario in which the matter mass-energy density is only mildly affected by the presence of a dynamical dark sector coupling.
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