Exploring Parameter Constraints on Quintessential Dark Energy: The Exponential Model

Understand

We present an analysis of a scalar field model of dark energy with an exponential potential using the Dark Energy Task Force (DETF) simulated data models.

• Using Markov Chain Monte Carlo sampling techniques we examine the ability of each simulated data set to constrain the parameter space of the exponential potential for data sets based on a cosmological constant and a specific exponential scalar field model.
• We compare our results with the constraining power calculated by the DETF using their ``$w_0-w_a$'' parametrization of the dark energy.
• We find that respective increases in constraining power from one stage to the next produced by our analysis give results consistent with DETF results.