Nonparametric Reconstruction of the Dark Energy Equation of State

Understand

A basic aim of ongoing and upcoming cosmological surveys is to unravel the mystery of dark energy.

• In the absence of a compelling theory to test, a natural approach is to better characterize the properties of dark energy in search of clues that can lead to a more fundamental understanding.
• One way to view this characterization is the improved determination of the redshift-dependence of the dark energy equation of state parameter, w(z).
• To do this requires a robust and bias-free method for reconstructing w(z) from data that does not rely on restrictive expansion schemes or assumed functional forms for w(z).