We study a non-Riemannian modification of 5-dimensional Kaluza-Klein theory. In our proposal the Riemannian structure of the five-dimensional manifold is replaced by a Weylintegrable one. In this context a 4-dimensional Poincarè invariant solution is studied. Spacetime structures with thick smooth branes separated in the extra dimension arise. We focus our attention, mainly, in a case where the massless graviton is located in one of the thick branes at the origin, meanwhile the matter degrees of freedom are confined to the other brane. Due to the small overlap of the graviton's wave-function with the second thick brane, the model accounts for a resolution of the mass hierarchy problem a la Randall-Sundrum. Although, initially, no assumptions are made about the topology of the extra dimension, the solution found yields an extra space that is effectivelly compact and respects Z 2 symmetry. Unlike some other models with branes, a preliminary study (not including the effect of scalar perturbations) shows that the spectrum of massive Kaluza-Klein states is quantized and free of tachyonic modes.

A class of braneworld models can lead to phantom-like acceleration of the late universe, but without the need for any phantom matter. In the simplest models, the universe contains only cold dark matter and a cosmological constant. We generalize these models by introducing a quintessence field. The new feature in our models is that quintessence leads to a crossing of the phantom divide, w = −1. This is a purely gravitational effect, and there is no phantom instability. Furthermore, the Hubble parameter is always decreasing, and there is no big rip singularity in the future.

In this paper we investigate quintom cosmologies with arbitrary potentials from the dynamical systems perspective. The dynamical systems analysis is complete in the sense that it includes the asymptotic regime where both scalar fields diverge, which proves to be particularly relevant in connection with the existence of tracking phases. The results of the present study indicate that the existence of phantom attractors is not generic: for quintom models there may exist either de Sitter attractors associated with the saddle points of the potential, or tracking attractors in the asymptotic regime where the scalar fields diverge.Comment: revtex4, 9 pages, 3 eps figures, Article in press at PL

We explore quintessence models of dark energy which exhibit non-minimal coupling between the dark matter and the dark energy components of the cosmic fluid. The kind of coupling chosen is inspired in scalar-tensor theories of gravity. We impose a suitable dynamics of the expansion allowing to derive exact Friedmann-Robertson-Walker solutions once the coupling function is given as input. Self-interaction potentials of single and double exponential types emerge as result of our choice of the coupling function. The stability and existence of the solutions is discussed in some detail. Although, in general, models with appropriated interaction between the components of the cosmic mixture are useful to handle the coincidence problem, in the present study the coincidence can not be evaded due to the choice of the solution generating ansatz.PACS numbers: 04.20.Jb, 04.20.Dw, 98.80.Es, 95.30.Sf, 95.35.+d