Revisiting the Instability Problem of the Interacting Dark Energy Model in the Parameterized Post-Friedmann Framework

Abstract

Abstract Dark energy might interact with dark matter in a direct, non-gravitational way, which can help remedy several theoretical defects. In order to find out the properties of interacting dark energy (IDE) models, it is necessary to investigate the cosmological perturbations in detail. However, due to the improper use of pressure perturbation of dark energy, a large-scale instability at the early stage occurs occasionally. In recent years, parameterized post-Friedmann approach has been used to calculate the perturbation equations in the IDE scenario. Under this framework, the dark energy pressure perturbation was replaced by the relationship between the momentum density of dark energy and other components on a large scale. However, this paper shows that if the interaction terms are related to the velocity perturbation of dark energy, the density perturbation of dark matter, and the matter power spectrum will diverge when the equation of state parameter of dark energy w is close to −1. A simple parameterization steering clear of this problem is proposed in this paper, which is a more general form and can be applied to explore the interaction between dark matter and dark energy by using various cosmological data.