Observational constraints on noncold dark matter and phenomenological emergent dark energy
Yan-Hong Yao, Junchao Wang, Xin-He Meng
Abstract
It is well known that there are several long-standing problems implying the discordance of the $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}\mathrm{CDM}$ model. Although most of the models proposed to resolve these problems assume that dark matter is pressureless, it is still possible that dark matter is not cold, as current observations have not ruled out this possibility yet. Therefore, in this article, we treat the dark matter equation of state parameter as a free parameter, and apply observational data to investigate the noncoldness of dark matter. Impressing by the simplicity of the phenomenological emergent dark energy (PEDE) and its ability to relieve the Hubble tension, we propose the $\mathrm{PEDE}+{w}_{\mathrm{dm}}$ model based on PEDE and noncold dark matter. We then place constraints on this model in light of the Planck 2018 cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropies, baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) measurements, and the Pantheon compilation of type Ia supernovae. The results indicate a preference for a negative dark matter equation of state parameter at 95% CL for all datasets except CMB alone and $\mathrm{CMB}+\mathrm{BAO}$, which suggests that the noncoldness assumption of dark matter is worth investigating further in order to understand the nature of dark matter. The Hubble tension is alleviated in this scenario compared to the $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}\mathrm{CDM}$ model, with a significance below $3\ensuremath{\sigma}$ level for all datasets except $\mathrm{CMB}+\mathrm{Pantheon}$. However, from the analysis based on Bayesian evidence, we clearly see that the datasets favor $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}\mathrm{CDM}$ over the $\mathrm{PEDE}+{w}_{\mathrm{dm}}$ model.