Chaotic scalar fields as models for dark energy

Abstract

We consider stochastically quantized self-interacting scalar fields as suitable models to generate dark energy in the Universe. Second quantization effects lead to new and unexpected phenomena if the self-interaction strength is strong. The stochastically quantized dynamics can degenerate to a chaotic dynamics conjugated to a Bernoulli shift in fictitious time, and the right amount of vacuum energy density can be generated without fine-tuning. It is numerically observed that the scalar field dynamics distinguishes fundamental parameters such as the electroweak and strong coupling constants as corresponding to local minima in the dark energy landscape. Chaotic fields can offer possible solutions to the cosmological coincidence problem, as well as to the problem of uniqueness of vacua.