Brane Quintessence

Abstract

We propose a new quintessence scenario in the brane cosmology, assuming that a quintessence field $Q$ is confined in our 3-dimensional brane world. With a potential $V(Q)= μ^{α+4} Q^{-α}~(α\geq 2)$, we find that the density parameter of the scalar field decreases as $Ω_Q \sim a^{-4(α-2)/(α+2)}$ in the epoch of quadratic energy density dominance, if $α\leq 6$. This attractor solution is followed by the usual tracking quintessence scenario after a conventional Friedmann universe is recovered. With an equipartition of initial energy density, we find a natural and successful quintessence model for $α\gsim 4$.