Systematic Review of Dynamic Dark Energy Models: From Quintessence to Tachyon Fields

Authors

  • Marina CORRÊA FREITAS ICBS – International Center for Biomedical & Space Sciences, LIASTRA Institute , University of Aveiro image/svg+xml Author https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1723-4113
    Competing Interests

    No conflict of Interest

Keywords:

Dark Energy, Cosmology, Quintessence, K-Essence, Phantom Fields

Abstract

Dark energy, responsible for nearly 70% of the total energy density of the Universe, remains one of the most fundamental open problems in modern cosmology. While the ΛCDM model attributes cosmic acceleration to a cosmological constant, theoretical challenges such as the fine-tuning and coincidence problems motivate the exploration of dynamic dark energy (DDE) models. This study presents a systematic review of scalar-field dark energy models, including quintessence, k-essence, phantom, and tachyon fields, published between 2015 and 2025. Following PRISMA 2020 guidelines, literature searches were conducted in Scopus, Web of Science, and NASA ADS. From 254 identified records, 112 studies met the inclusion criteria and were analyzed. The results show that quintessence models dominate the literature and remain broadly consistent with current cosmological observations, while k-essence models provide alternative mechanisms through non-canonical kinetic terms. Phantom and tachyon models offer theoretical extensions but present stability challenges. Upcoming surveys such as Euclid, LSST, and JWST are expected to significantly improve constraints on the evolution of dark energy.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biography

  • Marina CORRÊA FREITAS, ICBS – International Center for Biomedical & Space Sciences, LIASTRA Institute, University of Aveiro

    CEO Founder of LIASTRA and ICBS Laboratory | NASA OSDR AWG Researcher | NASA TOP Scientist | BSc. Biomedical Sciences at University of Aveiro | Postgrad in Astronomy, AI, Data Science & Machine Learning | MBA

References

Armendariz-Picon, C., Mukhanov, V., & Steinhardt, P. J. (2001). Essentials of k-essence. Physical Review D, 63(10), 103510. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.63.103510

Basilakos, S., & Nesseris, S. (2023). Constraints on quintessence models with Euclid forecasts. Physical Review D, 108(6), 063504. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.108.063504

Caldwell, R. R. (2002). A phantom menace? Cosmological consequences of a dark energy component with super-negative equation of state. Physics Letters B, 545(1–2), 23–29. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0370-2693(02)02589-3

Copeland, E. J., Sami, M., & Tsujikawa, S. (2006). Dynamics of dark energy. International Journal of Modern Physics D, 15(11), 1753–1936. https://doi.org/10.1142/S021827180600942X

Eisenstein, D. J., Zehavi, I., Hogg, D. W., Scoccimarro, R., Blanton, M. R., Nichol, R. C., … Tegmark, M. (2005). Detection of the baryon acoustic peak in the large-scale correlation function of SDSS luminous red galaxies. The Astrophysical Journal, 633(2), 560–574. https://doi.org/10.1086/466512

Huterer, D., & Shafer, D. L. (2018). Dark energy two decades after its discovery: Observables, probes, consistency tests. Reports on Progress in Physics, 81(1), 016901. https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6633/aa997e

Padmanabhan, T. (2002). Accelerated expansion of the universe driven by tachyonic matter. Physical Review D, 66(2), 021301. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.66.021301

Perlmutter, S., Aldering, G., Goldhaber, G., Knop, R. A., Nugent, P., Castro, P. G., … Supernova Cosmology Project. (1999). Measurements of Ω and Λ from 42 high-redshift supernovae. The Astrophysical Journal, 517(2), 565–586. https://doi.org/10.1086/307221

Planck Collaboration. (2018). Planck 2018 results. VI. Cosmological parameters. Astronomy & Astrophysics, 641, A6. https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201833910

Riess, A. G., Filippenko, A. V., Challis, P., Clocchiatti, A., Diercks, A., Garnavich, P. M., … Schmidt, B. P. (1998). Observational evidence from supernovae for an accelerating universe and a cosmological constant. The Astronomical Journal, 116(3), 1009–1038. https://doi.org/10.1086/300499

Tsujikawa, S. (2013). Quintessence: A review. Classical and Quantum Gravity, 30(21), 214003. https://doi.org/10.1088/0264-9381/30/21/214003

Weinberg, S. (1989). The cosmological constant problem. Reviews of Modern Physics, 61(1), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1103/RevModPhys.61.1

Yang, W., Pan, S., & Mota, D. F. (2021). Dark energy models after Planck and DES: Observational constraints and theoretical implications. Physical Review D, 103(8), 083517. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.103.083517

Downloads

Published

2026-03-10

How to Cite

Systematic Review of Dynamic Dark Energy Models: From Quintessence to Tachyon Fields. (2026). Journal of Biomedical & Space Sciences (JBSS), 1. https://www.icbsjournals.org/index.php/jbss/article/view/3

Share

Most read articles by the same author(s)