Mass varying dark matter in effective generalized Chaplygin gas scenarios

A unified treatment of mass varying dark matter coupled to cosmonlike dark energy is shown to result in effective generalized Chaplygin gas (GCG) scenarios. The mass varying mechanism is treated as a cosmon field inherent effect. Coupling dark matter with dark energy allows for reproducing the conditions for the present cosmic acceleration and for recovering the stability resulting from a positive squared speed of sound c(s)(2), as in the GCG scenario. The scalar field mediates the nontrivial coupling between the dark matter sector and the sector responsible for the accelerated expansion of the Universe. The equation of state of perturbations is the same as that of the background cosmology so that all the effective results from the GCG paradigm are maintained. Our results suggest the mass varying mechanism, when obtained from an exactly soluble field theory, as the one responsible for the stability issue and for the cosmic acceleration of the Universe.