Observational constraints on dark energy with generalized equations of state

Abstract

We investigate the effects of viscosity terms depending on the Hubble parameter and its derivatives in the dark energy equation of state. Such terms are possible if dark energy is a fictitious fluid originating from corrections to the Einstein general relativity as is the case for some braneworld inspired models or fourth order gravity. We consider two classes of models whose singularities in the early and late time universe have been studied by testing the models against the dimensionless coordinate distance to Type Ia Supernovae and radio galaxies also including priors on the shift and the acoustic peak parameters. It turns out that both models are able to explain the observed cosmic speed up without the need of phantom ($w<\ensuremath{-}1$) dark energy.