Confronting Holographic Dark Energy with the Latest Cosmological Data: Tensions and Model Viability

Abstract Recent results from DESI DR2 hint at a possible dynamical form of dark energy. This motivates a fresh look at physically motivated alternatives to the standard ΛCDM model. In this work, we test two such scenarios - Holographic Dark Energy (HDE) and Ricci Dark Energy (RDE) - against a wide range of observations. The datasets include Cosmic Chronometers, Gamma-Ray Bursts, three major Type Ia Supernova compilations (Pantheon+SH0ES, DES-Dovekie, and Union3), the new DESI DR2 BAO measurements, and CMB distance priors from Planck 2018 + ACT-DR6. Our analysis shows that the RDE model is observationally non-viable. While late-time probes suggest a good fit by favoring a low matter density (Ωm0 ≈ 0.19–0.22), the inclusion of CMB priors forces Ωm0 to standard values, causing a catastrophic internal tension (5σ) and decisive statistical rejection. For the HDE model, we identify a clear tension among datasets. Supernova-dominated samples tend to favor a quintessence-like state (c 1.2), while the combination of DESI BAO and CMB data strongly shifts constraints toward a phantom behavior (c ≈ 0.69). We confirm that neither model resolves the Hubble Tension. A formal model selection analysis shows that while late-time data yield a spurious preference for dynamical models (ΔAIC 0), this vanishes completely when early-universe constraints are applied. We conclude, in agreement with other analyses, that the apparent hints for new physics are likely statistical artifacts of underlying dataset tensions, such as the reported Ωm tension. The key result is the CMB-driven indication of a phantom regime for HDE, which points toward Interacting Holographic Dark Energy (IHDE) as a promising next step to avoid a Big Rip singularity.