Direct cosmographic reconstruction of the quintessence potential

Abstract

We derive expressions for the first and second derivatives of the quintessence potential $V(\phi)$, in terms of $\lambda = -V^{\prime}/V$ and $\Gamma = (V^{\prime \prime}/V)/(V^\prime/V)^2$, as functions of the quintessence density fraction $\Omega_\phi$ and the cosmographic parameters $q$, $j$, and $s$. Our mapping is not explicitly a function of the equation of state parameter $w$. We use these results, along with recent observational data, to derive expansions of $V(\phi)$ about the present-day value of the scalar field, $\phi_0$.