Equation of state, and atomic electron effective potential, for a Weyl scaling invariant dark energy

Abstract

A key attribute of dark energy is the equation of state parameter $w={\rm pressure}/{\rm energy~density}$, and this has been recently measured observationally, giving values close to $-1$. In this paper we calculate the $w$ parameter characterizing the novel Weyl scaling invariant dark energy that we have analyzed in a series of papers, and show that it is compatible with experiment. We also derive the atomic electron effective potential induced by dark energy from the electron geodesic equation, which can be applied to the evaluation of energy level shifts in Rydberg atoms.