Unified Model for Dark Energy

Pedro F. Gonzalez-Diaz

Published 2002-12-18, updated 2003-02-04Version 2

A new model for the universe filled with a generalized Chaplygin fluid is considered which unitarily describes as a single vacuum entity both a quintessence scalar field and a cosmological constant, so unifying the notion of dark energy. While the evolution of the universe filled with such a fluid does not obviously contradict the present cosmic acceleration, the introduced single dark-energy component, for equations of state with characteristic parameter $\omega\geq -1$, behaves like an usual quintessence fluid with constant equation of state at early high densities, and like a pure cosmological constant at late cosmological times.