Cascading Dark Energy

Abstract

The standard cosmological model is in the midst of a stress test, thanks to the tension between supernova-based measurements of the Hubble constant H 0 and inferences of its values from cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropies. Numerous explanations for the present-day cosmic acceleration require the presence of a new fundamental scalar field, as do early dark energy solutions to the Hubble tension. This raises the possibility that multiple fields cooperatively contribute to the dark energy component in bursts throughout cosmic time due to distinct initial conditions and couplings. Here, this cascading dark energy scenario is illustrated through a realization that effectively reduces to a two-field model, with two epochs in which dark energy is cosmologically significant. The model is compared to measurements of the CMB and baryon acoustic oscillations, as well as both PANTHEON and SH0ES observations of Type Ia supernovae. Neglecting the linear perturbations, it is found that this scenario ameliorates the Hubble tension, improving over purely late-time models of dark energy and the agreement between the galaxy survey measurements of baryon acoustic oscillations.