Phantom dark energy
Hypothetical form of dark energy
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Through Cosmology, Dark energy and Vacuum
The term was coined by Robert R. Caldwell in 1999.
Equation of state
In cosmology, the equation of state of a perfect fluid is given by
where p is the pressure, ρ is the energy density and w is the ratio between the two. For normal baryonic matter and for a cosmological constant . Phantom dark energy is defined as having .
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Big Rip mechanism
The existence of phantom dark energy could cause the expansion of the universe to accelerate so quickly that a scenario known as the Big Rip, a possible end to the universe, occurs. As the universe expands, the phantom energy density increases, further accelerating the cosmic expansion in a feedback loop that drives the scale factor to infinity in finite time. All structures are ripped apart, even atoms and nuclei, as each particle becomes causally disconnected from all others.
One application of phantom dark energy in 2007 was to a cyclic model of the universe, which reverses its expansion extremely shortly before the would-be Big Rip. This cyclic model can be more complicated if the mass–energy of every point in the universe is dense enough to collapse into black hole core substance that will bounce after reaching a maximum threshold of compression causing the next big bang (the overall scenario is highly unlikely).
Possible evidence
In 2025, the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) collaboration, published a survey on baryon acoustic oscillations. They found violations of the standard model of cosmology, the Lambda-CDM model, within 4 standard deviations. They reported acceleration of the universe that was stronger in the past, suggesting the presence of phantom dark energy in the early universe.