Negative Dark Energy Density from High Redshift Pantheon+ Supernovae
First author: Mohammad Malekjani
Given a \textit{model building} assumption on the (effective) equation of state (EoS) of the Universe, the Hubble constant $H_0$ arises as an integration constant when one solves the Friedmann equations. Therefore, while $H_0$ is \textit{mathematically} a constant, it need not be a constant \textit{observationally}, unless the EoS or model accurately describes the Universe. Building on earlier results, we show that redshift evolution of flat $\Lambda$CDM cosmological parameters $(H_0, \Omega_{m})$ persists in the most up-to-date Pantheon+ sample. In particular, an increasing $\Omega_m$ (decreasing $H_0$) trend with effective redshift leads to $\Omega_m > 1$ best fits, corresponding to negative dark energy (DE) density, beyond $z = 1$. The redshift range of the Pantheon+ sample is presented as $0 < z \lesssim 2.26$, but this masks redshift evolution of flat $\Lambda$CDM fitting parameters across the sample.