Nonlinear bulk viscosity and the stability of accelerated expansion in FRW spacetime

Abstract: In the context of dark energy solutions, we consider a Friedmann-Robertson-Walker spacetime filled with a non-interacting mixture of dust and a viscous fluid, whose bulk viscosity is governed by the nonlinear model proposed in [15]. Through a phase space analysis of the equivalent dynamical system, existence and stability of critical solutions are established and the respective scale factors are computed. The results point towards the possibility of describing the current accelerated expansion of the Universe by means of the abovementioned nonlinear model for viscosity.