Constraints from High Redshift Supernovae upon Scalar Field Cosmologies

Abstract

Recent observations of high-redshift Type Ia supernovae have placed stringent constraints on the cosmological constant $\Lambda$. We explore the implications of these SNe observations for cosmological models in which a classically evolving scalar field currently dominates the energy density of the Universe. Such models have been shown to share the advantages of $\Lambda$ models: compatibility with the spatial flatness predicted inflation; a Universe older than the standard Einstein-de Sitter model; and, combined with cold dark matter, predictions for large-scale structure formation in good agreement with data from galaxy surveys. Compared to the cosmological constant, these scalar field models are consistent with the SNe observations for a lower matter density, $\Omega_{m0} \sim 0.2$, and a higher age, $H_0 t_0 \gtrsim 1$. Combined with the fact that scalar field models imprint a distinctive signature on the cosmic microwave background anisotropy, they remain currently viable and should be testable in the near future.