2024/06/06 by Jonathan J. Heckman, Heckman, Jonathan J., Omar F. Ramadan +3 · 3 citations
Computer Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Computational Physics and Python Applications #Cosmology and Gravitation Theories #Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics (astro-ph.CO) #FOS: Physical sciences #High Energy Physics - Phenomenology (hep-ph) #High Energy Physics - Theory (hep-th) #Space Science and Extraterrestrial Life
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2406.04408
openalex publication_date 2024/06/06 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
Pixelated dark energy is a string theory scenario with a quantum mechanically stable cosmological constant. The number of pixels that make up the universe slowly increases, manifesting as a time-dependent source of dark energy. DESI has recently reported evidence for dynamical dark energy that fits within this framework. In light of this, we perform the first cosmological analysis of the pixelated model. We find that the simplest model where the pixel growth rate is constant is able to accommodate the data, providing a marginally better fit than ΛCDM; and we show that models where the pixel growth rate is increasing and of order the Hubble constant today could provide better fits. Our analysis helps to clarify the features of UV constructions of dark energy necessary to accommodate the data.