2005/06/30 by Soo A Kim, Andrew R. Liddle, Andrew R Liddle +1
Economics, Econometrics and Finance · Physics and Astronomy · #Complex Systems and Time Series Analysis #Cosmology and Gravitation Theories #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena #astro-ph #gr-qc #hep-ph #hep-th
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevd.72.043506
published as Phys.Rev. D72 (2005) 043506 · 6 pages RevTeX4 with three figures. Significant updates, version accepted by Physical Review D. Critical point analysis with two exponential potentials was already carried out by Coley and van den Hoogen in gr-qc/9911075 . Extra numerical analysis added and additional references. Overall conclusions unchanged
arxiv created 2005/07/21 · openalex publication_date 2005/08/08 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
We explore the dynamics of assisted quintessence, where more than one scalar field is present with the same potential. For potentials with tracking solutions, the fields naturally approach the same values---in the context of inflation this leads to the assisted inflation phenomenon where several fields can cooperate to drive a period of inflation though none is able to individually. For exponential potentials, we study the fixed points and their stability confirming results already in the literature, and then carry out a numerical analysis to show how assisted quintessence is realized. For inverse power-law potentials, we find by contrast that there is no assisted behavior---indeed those are the unique (monotonic) potentials where several fields together behave just as a single field in the same potential. More generally, we provide an algorithm for generating a single-field potential giving equivalent dynamics to multifield assisted quintessence.