Dynamical dark energy from quantum gravity condensates
We investigate dynamical dark energy emerging from quantum gravity within the framework of group field theory (GFT) condensate cosmology. We generalise previous models of quantum gravity induced cosmic acceleration by considering a broader parameter space, including an additional scalar matter field besides the relational clock, and accounting simultaneously for the phase dynamics and the contribution of multiple condensate modes. Working in a mean-field approximation with coherent peaked states and restricting to Hermitian GFT interactions, we derive the corresponding effective cosmological dynamics and analyse its late-time behaviour. We show that the system approaches an asymptotic de Sitter regime, dynamically dominated by a single condensate mode, while the approach to this regime can exhibit a non-trivial dynamical dark-energy evolution. In particular, both the condensate phase and subdominant modes can generate deviations from the asymptotic equation of state $w=-1$, including phantom behaviour and, under suitable conditions, a crossing of the phantom divide. The additional scalar matter field enters directly into these conditions, providing a link between the matter content and the quantum gravity induced dark-energy dynamics. These results extend the robustness and generality of the GFT mechanism for dynamical dark energy and provide a basis for confronting the underlying quantum gravity dynamics with cosmological observations.