What question did this study set out to answer?

This series investigates whether the RCD hilltop at C = 1/2 can serve as a viable dark energy mechanism.

February 19, 2026Open Access

RCD Hilltop Dark Energy Series — Overview

Key Points

This series investigates whether the RCD hilltop at C = 1/2 can serve as a viable dark energy mechanism.
Analyzed the bare form of the hilltop for linear stability (Paper I).
Examined kinetic modifications' inability to stabilize the model (Paper II).
Explored dynamic stabilization through coupling to a dissipative bath (Paper III).
Assessed UV-consistency using the Caldeira-Leggett framework (Paper IV).
Identified perturbation spectrum characteristics and observational signatures (Paper V).
The hilltop is initially linearly unstable and cannot be stabilized by kinetic modifications.
Dynamic stabilization is achieved by coupling with a dissipative bath, allowing for a viable dark energy mechanism.
Stabilization shows UV-consistency in the context of the Caldeira-Leggett framework.
The resultant perturbation spectrum is free from pathologies and shows discrepancies from ΛCDM.

Abstract

This document provides a concise guide to a five-paper series analyzing the cosmolog- ical viability of a scalar field dark energy model within Radial Coherential Dynamics (RCD). The series follows a single question from formulation to perturbative analysis: can the RCD hilltop at C = 1/2 function as a viable dark energy mechanism? The answer is conditionally affirmative. The hilltop is linearly unstable in its bare form (Paper I), cannot be stabilized by kinetic modifications (Paper II), but can be dy- namically stabilized by coupling to a dissipative bath sector (Paper III). This stabiliza- tion is UV-consistent within a Caldeira–Leggett framework (Paper IV) and produces a perturbation spectrum free of pathologies, with observational signatures marginally distinguishable from ΛCDM (Paper V).

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