Challenging $\Lambda$CDM with Higher-Order GUP Corrections

Abstract

We study quantum corrections to the $\Lambda$CDM model model arising from a minimum measurable length in Heisenberg's uncertainty principle. We focus on a higher-order Generalized Uncertainty Principle, beyond the quadratic form. This generalized GUP introduces two free parameters, and we determine the modified Friedmann equation. This framework leads to a perturbative cosmological model that naturally reduces to $\Lambda$CDM in an appropriate limiting case of the deformation parameters. We construct the modified cosmological scenario, analyze its deviations from the standard case, and examine it as a mechanism for the description of dynamical dark energy. To constrain the model, we employ Cosmic Chronometers, the latest Baryon Acoustic Oscillations from the DESI DR2 release, and Supernova data from the PantheonPlus and Union3 catalogues. Our analysis indicates that the modified GUP model is statistically competitive with the $\Lambda$CDM scenario, providing comparable or even improved fits to some of the combined datasets. Moreover, the data constrain the deformation parameter of the GUP model, with the preferred value found to be negative, which corresponds to a phantom regime in the effective dynamical dark energy description.