Bumblebee cosmology: The FLRW solution and the CMB temperature anisotropy

Abstract

We put into test the idea of replacing dark energy by a vector field against the cosmic microwave background (CMB) observation using the simplest vector-tensor theory, where a massive vector field couples to the Ricci scalar and the Ricci tensor quadratically. First, a remarkable Friedmann-Lemaître-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) metric solution that is completely independent of the matter-energy compositions of the universe is found. Second, based on the FLRW solution as well as the perturbation equations, a numerical code calculating the CMB temperature power spectrum is built. We find that though the FLRW solution can mimic the evolution of the universe in the standard $\hat{I}›$CDM model, the calculated CMB temperature power spectrum shows unavoidable discrepancies from the CMB power spectrum measurements.

8 figures, Frontiers of Physics, 2026, volume 21, issue 3, 036201