Resolving Hubble Tension with Quintom Dark Energy Model

Abstract: Recent low-redshift observations give value of the present-time Hubble parameter $H_{0}\simeq 74~\rm{km s}^{-1}\rm{Mpc}^{-1}$, roughly 10\% higher than the predicted value $H_{0}=67.4~\rm{km s}^{-1}\rm{Mpc}^{-1}$ from Planck's observations of the Cosmic Microwave Background radiation~(CMB) and the $\Lambda$CDM model. Phenomenologically, we show that by adding an extra component X with negative density in the Friedmann equation, it can relieve the Hubble tension without changing the Planck's constraint on the matter and dark energy densities. For the extra negative density to be sufficiently small, its equation-of-state parameter must satisfy $1/3\leq w_{X}\leq1$. We propose a quintom model of two scalar fields that realizes this condition and potentially alleviate the Hubble tension. One scalar field acts as a quintessence while another "phantom" scalar conformally couples to matter in such a way that viable cosmological scenario can be achieved. The model depends only on two parameters, $\lambda_{\phi}$ and $\delta$ which represent rolling tendency of the self-interacting potential of the quintessence and the strength of conformal phantom-matter coupling respectively. The toy quintom model with $H_{0}=73.4~\rm{km s}^{-1}\rm{Mpc}^{-1}$~(Quintom I) gives good Supernovae-Ia luminosity fits, decent $r_{\rm BAO}$ fit, but slightly small acoustic multipole $\ell_{A}=285.54$. Full parameter scan reveals that quintom model provide better model than the $\Lambda$CDM model in certain region of the parameter space, $0.02<\delta<0.10, \Omega_{m}^{(0)}<0.31$, while significantly relieving Hubble tension even though not completely resolving it. A benchmark quintom model, Quintom II, is presented as an example.