Exploring Parameter Constraints on Quintessential Dark Energy: the Albrecht-Skordis model

Abstract

We consider the effect of future dark energy experiments on ``Albrecht-Skordis'' (AS) models of scalar field dark energy using the Monte-Carlo Markov chain method. We deal with the issues of parameterization of these models, and have included spatial curvature as a parameter, finding it to be important. We use the Dark Energy Task Force (DETF) simulated data to represent future experiments and report our results in the form of likelihood contours in the chosen parameter space. Simulated data is produced for cases where the background cosmology has a cosmological constant, as well as cases where the dark energy is provided by the AS model. The latter helps us demonstrate the power of DETF Stage 4 data in the context of this specific model. Though the AS model can produce equations of state functions very different from what is possible with the $w_0-w_a$ parametrization used by the DETF, our results are consistent with those reported by the DETF.