Model-Independent Reconstruction of Quintessence Potential and Kinetic Energy from DESI DR2 and Pantheon+ Supernovae

Abstract

We present a model-independent reconstruction of the quintessence scalar field's dynamics-both its potential and kinetic energy-directly from the latest cosmological observations. Our analysis combines DESI DR2 baryon acoustic oscillation measurements with the Pantheon plus Type Ia supernova compilation, employing Gaussian process with four distinct covariance kernels to avoid theoretical priors on the potential's functional form. Key findings reveal a monotonically decreasing potential with redshift, consistent with thawing quintessence, and a kinetic energy that crosses zero near $z\sim 1$, marking the dark energy-matter equality epoch. Notably, while apparent negative kinetic energy values emerge at intermediate redshifts (0.5<z<1.0), these are statistical artifacts within uncertainties, arising from error amplification in derivative reconstruction rather than new physics. Our results demonstrate the power of non-parametric methods to constrain dynamical dark energy and show minimal dependence on the choice of cosmological priors, whether from local (SH0ES) or early-universe (Planck) measurements.

arXiv comment10 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication on EPJC

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