Stress testing the dark energy equation of state imprint on supernova data
This work determines the degree to which a standard Lambda-CDM analysis based on type Ia supernovae can identify deviations from a cosmological constant in the form of a redshift-dependent dark energy equation of state w(z).
We introduce and apply a novel random curve generator to simulate instances of w(z) from constraint families with increasing distinction from a cosmological constant. After producing a series of mock catalogs of binned type Ia supernovae corresponding to each w(z) curve, we perform a standard Lambda-CDM analysis to estimate the corresponding posterior densities of the absolute B-band magnitude of type Ia supernovae, the present-day matter density, and the equation of state parameter.
Using the Kullback-Leibler divergence between posterior densities as a difference measure, we demonstrate that a standard type Ia supernova cosmology analysis has limited sensitivity to extensive redshift dependencies of the dark energy equation of state. In addition, we report that larger redshift-dependent departures from a cosmological constant do not necessarily manifest easier-detectable incompatibilities with the Lambda-CDM model.
Our results suggest that physics beyond the standard model may simply be hidden in plain sight.
Full citation: Moews et al., 2019, Physical Review D, Volume 99, Issue 12, id.123529
This project is a result from COIN Residence Program #5 – Chania, Greece/2018.
