We study a special running vacuum model (RVM) with $Λ= 3 αH^2+3βH_0^4 H^{-2}+Λ_0$, where $α$, $β$ and $Λ_0$ are the model parameters and $H$ is the Hubble one. This RVM has non-analytic background solutions for the energy densities of matter and radiation, which can only be evaluated numerically. From the analysis of the CMB power spectrum and baryon acoustic oscillation along with the prior of $α>0$ to avoid having a negative dark energy density, we find that $α<2.83\times 10^{-4}$ and $β=(-0.2^{+3.9}_{-4.5})\times 10^{-4}$ (95$\%$ C.L.). We show that the RVM fits the cosmological data comparably to the $Λ$CDM. In addition, we relate the fluctuation amplitude $σ_8$ to the neutrino mass sum $Σm_ν$.
We show that a CP-violating interaction induced by a derivative coupling between the running vacuum and a non-conserving baryon current may dynamically break CPT and trigger baryogenesis through an effective chemical potential. By assuming a non-singular class of running vacuum cosmologies which provides a complete cosmic history (from an early inflationary de Sitter stage to the present day quasi-de Sitter acceleration), it is found that an acceptable baryon asymmetry is generated for many different choices of the model parameters. It is interesting that the same ingredient (running vacuum en…
The holographic Ricci dark energy can be treated as a running vacuum due to its analogy in the energy density, which is a combination of $H$ and $\dot H$, the model can predict either eternal acceleration or eternal deceleration. In the earlier works, we have shown that the presence of additive constant in the energy density or by considering possible interaction between dark sectors through a phenomenological term, the model can predict a transition from a prior decelerated to a late accelerated epoch. This paper analyses the cosmic evolution of holographic Ricci dark energy as a running vacu…
We investigate the power spectra of the CMB temperature and matter density in the running vacuum model (RVM) with the time-dependent cosmological constant of $Λ= 3 νH^2 + Λ_0$, where $H$ is the Hubble parameter. In this model, dark energy decreases in time and decays to both matter and radiation. By using the Markov chain Monte Carlo method, we constrain the model parameter $ν$ as well as the cosmological observables. Explicitly, we obtain $ν\leq 1.54 \times 10^{-4}$ (68\% confidence level) in the RVM with the best-fit $χ^2_{\mathrm{RVM}} = 13968.8$, which is slightly smaller than $χ^2_{Λ\math…
Brans-Dicke (BD) cosmology is reconsidered from an approach in which the model can be formulated in $Λ$CDM form, but at the expense of replacing the rigid cosmological constant $Λ$ with a dynamical quasivacuum component which depends on a small parameter $ε$. The product of $ε$ times the BD-parameter $ω_{\rm BD}$ becomes exactly determined in terms of the ordinary cosmological parameters. The GR limit is recovered for $ω_{\rm BD}\to\infty$ when $ε\to 0$. We solve the background cosmology of the model as well as the perturbations equations. When fitted to the cosmological data, we find that the…
We present an analysis of the Brans-Dicke cosmological model with a cosmological constant and cold dark matter (BD-$Λ$CDM). We find that the BD-$Λ$CDM is favored by the overall cosmological data (SNIa+BAO+$H(z)$+LSS+CMB) when it is compared with the standard model of cosmology. The BD-$Λ$CDM model can be viewed from the GR perspective as a Running Vacuum Model (RVM) with a time evolving vacuum energy density. Due to this fact and also to its time evolving effective gravitational coupling, the model can alleviate the $σ_8$ and the $H_0$ tensions at a time. We also present the results for differ…
In this work we study a phenomenological non-gravitational interaction between dark matter and dark energy. The scenario studied in this work extends the usual interaction model proportional to the derivative of the dark component density adding to the coupling a non-linear term of the form $Q = ρ'/3(α+ βρ)$. This dark sector interaction model could be interpreted as a particular case of a running vacuum model of the type $Λ(H) = n_0 + n_1 H^2 + n_2 H^4$ in which the vacuum decays into dark matter. For a flat FRW Universe filled with dark energy, dark matter and decoupled baryonic matter and r…
The cosmological term, $Λ$, in Einstein's equations is an essential ingredient of the `concordance' $Λ$CDM model of cosmology. In this mini-review presentation, we assess the possibility that $Λ$ can be a dynamical quantity, more specifically a `running quantity' in quantum field theory in curved spacetime. A great deal of phenomenological works have shown in the last few years that this option (sometimes accompanied with a running gravitational coupling) may cure some of the tensions afflicting the $Λ$CDM. The `running vacuum models' (RVM's) are characterized by the vacuum energy density, $ρ_…
It has recently been shown that the class of running vacuum models (RVMs) has the capacity to fit the overall cosmological observations better than the concordance $Λ$CDM model, therefore supporting the possibility of dynamical dark energy (DE). Apart from the cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropies, the most crucial datasets involved are: i) baryonic acoustic oscillations (BAO), and ii) direct large scale structure (LSS) formation data. Analyses mainly focusing on CMB and with insufficient BAO+LSS input generally fail to capture the dynamical DE signature, whereas the few existing stud…
In this work we study different types of dark energy (DE) models in the framework of the cosmographic approach, with emphasis on the Running Vacuum models (RVMs). We assess their viability using different information criteria and compare them with the so-called Ghost DE models (GDEs) as well as with the concordance $Λ$CDM model. We use the Hubble diagrams for Pantheon SnIa, quasars (QSOs), gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) as well as the data on baryonic acoustic oscillations (BAOs) in four different combinations. Upon minimizing the $χ^2$ function of the distance modulus in the context of the Markov Ch…
We investigate observational constraints on the running vacuum model (RVM) of $Λ=3ν(H^{2}+K/a^2)+c_0$ in the spatially curved universe, where $ν$ is the model parameter, $K$ corresponds to the spatial curvature constant, and $c_{0}$ is a constant defined by the boundary conditions. As $\dotΛ \ne 0$, there are energy exchanges between vacuum, matter and radiation in RVM. We study the "geometrical degeneracy" of RVM on the CMB power spectra. By fitting the cosmological data, we find that the values of $χ^2$ in RVM and $Λ$CDM are similar to each other for the non-flat universe. Explicitly, we obt…
Theoretically, the running of the cosmological constant in the IR region is not ruled out. On the other hand, from the QFT viewpoint, the energy released due to the variation of the cosmological constant in the late universe cannot go to the matter sector. For this reason, the phenomenological bounds on such a running are not sufficiently restrictive. The situation can be different in the early universe when the gravitational field was sufficiently strong to provide an efficient creation of particles from the vacuum. We develop a framework for systematically exploring this ossibility. It is su…
The cosmological term, $Λ$, was introduced $104$ years ago by Einstein in his gravitational field equations. Whether $Λ$ is a rigid quantity or a dynamical variable in cosmology has been a matter of debate for many years, especially after the introduction of the general notion of dark energy (DE). $Λ$ is associated to the vacuum energy density, $ρ_{\rm vac}$, and one may expect that it evolves slowly with the cosmological expansion. Herein we present a devoted study testing this possibility using the promising class of running vacuum models (RVM's). We use a large string $SNIa+BAO+H(z)+LSS+CMB…
Recent studies suggest that dynamical dark energy (DDE) provides a better fit to the rising affluence of modern cosmological observations than the concordance model ($Λ$CDM) with a rigid cosmological constant, $Λ$. Such is the case with the running vacuum models (RVMs) and to some extent also with a simple XCDM parametrization. Apart from the cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropies, the most crucial datasets potentially carrying the DDE signature are: i) baryonic acoustic oscillations (BAO), and ii) direct large scale structure (LSS) formation data (i.e. the observations on $f(z)σ_8(z)$…
The $Λ$-term in Einstein's equations is a fundamental building block of the `concordance' $Λ$CDM model of cosmology. Even though the model is not free of fundamental problems, they have not been circumvented by any alternative dark energy proposal either. Here we stick to the $Λ$-term, but we contend that it can be a `running quantity' in quantum field theory (QFT) in curved spacetime. A plethora of phenomenological works have shown that this option can be highly competitive with the $Λ$CDM with a rigid cosmological term. The, so-called, `running vacuum models' (RVM's) are characterized by the…
Recent studies of quantum field theory in FLRW spacetime suggest that the cause of the speeding up of the universe is the running vacuum (RV). Appropriate renormalization of the energy-momentum tensor shows that the vacuum energy density is a smooth function of the Hubble rate and its derivatives: $ρ_{\rm vac}=ρ_{\rm vac}(H, \dot{H},\ddot{H},...)$. This is because in QFT the quantum scaling of $ρ_{\rm vac}$ with the renormalization point turns into cosmic evolution with $H$. As a result, any two nearby points of the cosmic expansion during the standard FLRW epoch are smoothly related through $…
We perform a comparative study of different types of dynamical dark energy models (DDES) using the cosmographic method. Among the models being examined herein we have the Running Vacuum models (RVMs), which have demonstrated considerable ability to fit the overall cosmological data at a level comparable to the standard cosmological model, $Λ$CDM, and capable of alleviating the $σ_8$ and $H_0$ tensions. At the same time we address a variety of Holographic dark energy models (HDEs) with different options for the time (redshift)-varying model parameter $c=c(z)$. We deal with the HDEs under the do…
We study particle production and the corresponding entropy increase in the context of cosmology with dynamical vacuum. We focus on the particular form that has been called "running vacuum model" (RVM), which is known to furnish a successful description of the overall current observations at a competitive level with the concordance $Λ$CDM model. It also provides an elegant global explanation of the cosmic history from a non-singular initial state in the very early universe up to our days and further into the final de Sitter era. The model has no horizon problem and provides an alternative expla…
It is well-known that quantum field theory (QFT) induces a huge value of the cosmological constant, $Λ$, which is outrageously inconsistent with cosmological observations. We review here some aspects of this fundamental theoretical conundrum (`the cosmological constant problem') and strongly argue in favor of the possibility that the cosmic vacuum density $ρ_{\rm vac}$ may be mildly evolving with the expansion rate $H$. Such a `running vacuum model' (RVM) proposal predicts an effective dynamical dark energy without postulating new ad hoc fields (quintessence and the like). Using the method of …
As a contribution to a viable candidate for a standard model of cosmology, we here show that pre-inflationary quantum fluctuations can provide a scenario for the long-sought initial conditions for the inflaton field. Our proposal is based on the assumption that at very high energies (higher than the energy scale of inflation) the vacuum-expectation value (VeV) of the field is trapped in a false vacuum and then, due to renormalization-group (RG) running, the potential starts to flatten out toward low energy, eventually tending to a convex one which allows the field to roll down to the true vacu…
In previous works we have derived a Running Vacuum Model (RVM) for a string Universe, which provides an effective description of the evolution of 4-dimensional string-inspired cosmologies from inflation till the present epoch. In the context of this "stringy RVM" version, it is assumed that the early Universe is characterised by purely gravitational degrees of freedom, from the massless gravitational string multiplet, including the antisymmetric tensor field. The latter plays an important role, since its dual gives rise to a `stiff' gravitational-axion "matter", which in turn couples to the gr…
It is known than the inclusion of spatial curvature can modify the evolution of matter perturbations and affect the Large Scale Structure (LSS) formation. We quantify the effects of the non-zero space curvature in terms of LSS formation for a cosmological model with a running vacuum energy density and a warm dark matter component. The evolution of density perturbations and the modified shape of its power spectrum are constructed and analyzed.
The renormalization of the vacuum energy in quantum field theory (QFT) is usually plagued with theoretical conundrums related not only with the renormalization procedure itself, but also with the fact that the final result leads usually to very large (finite) contributions incompatible with the measured value of $Λ$ in cosmology. Herein, we compute the zero-point energy (ZPE) for a nonminimally coupled (massive) scalar field in FLRW spacetime using the off-shell adiabatic renormalization technique employed in previous work. The general off-shell result yields a smooth function $ρ_{\rm vac}(H)$…
In this study, we consider three dark energy models in which $Λ$ is not constant, but has a dynamic nature that depends on the Hubble parameter $H$ and/or its time derivative $\dot{H}$. We analyze the generalized running vacuum model, for which $Λ(H)=A+BH^2+C\dot{H}$, along with the two models obtained by setting $B$ or $C$ equal to zero. A null value for $C$ yields the classical running vacuum model (RVM), while $B=0$ corresponds to what we term the generalized running vacuum sub-case, or GRVS. Our main aim is to investigate whether these models can accommodate non-zero spatial curvature. To …
