Gauge Field Mimetic Cosmology

Abstract

We extend the mimetic cosmology to models containing gauge invariant $p$-forms. The $0$-form case reproduces the well-known results of the mimetic dark matter, the $1$-form corresponds to the gauge field mimetic model while the $2$-form model is the Hodge dual of the $0$-form model in $4$ spacetime dimensions. We study the cosmological applications of the new gauge field mimetic model and show that it generates an energy density component which mimics the roles of spatial curvature. In the presence of the Maxwell term, the model also supports the flat, open and closed de Sitter-like cosmological backgrounds while the spatial geometry is flat for all three cases. We perform the cosmological perturbations analysis and show that the model is stable in the case of open de Sitter-like solution while it suffers from ghost instabilities in the case of the closed de Sitter-like solution.