Cosmological tracking solutions

Paul J. Steinhardt, Limin Wang, and Ivaylo Zlatev
Phys. Rev. D 59, 123504 – Published 4 May 1999
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Abstract

A substantial fraction of the energy density of the universe may consist of quintessence in the form of a slowly rolling scalar field. Since the energy density of the scalar field generally decreases more slowly than the matter energy density, it appears that the ratio of the two densities must be set to a special, infinitesimal value in the early universe in order to have the two densities nearly coincide today. Recently, we introduced the notion of tracker fields to avoid this initial conditions problem. In the paper, we address the following questions: What is the general condition to have tracker fields? What is the relation between the matter energy density and the equation-of-state of the universe imposed by tracker solutions? And can tracker solutions help to explain why quintessence is becoming important today rather than during the early universe?

  • Received 13 October 1998

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.59.123504

©1999 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Paul J. Steinhardt

  • Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104
  • Department of Physics, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08540

Limin Wang

  • Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104
  • Department of Physics, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027

Ivaylo Zlatev

  • Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104

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Issue

Vol. 59, Iss. 12 — 15 June 1999

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