Test of the Chevallier-Polarski-Linder parametrization for rapid dark energy equation of state transitions

We test the robustness and flexibility of the Chevallier-Polarski-Linder (CPL) parametrization of the dark energy equation of state w(z)=w₀+w_a(z)/(1+z) in recovering a four-parameter steplike fiducial model. We constrain the parameter space region of the underlying fiducial model where the CPL parametrization offers a reliable reconstruction. It turns out that non-negligible biases leak into the results for recent (z<2.5) rapid transitions, but that CPL yields a good reconstruction in all other cases. The presented analysis is performed with supernova Ia data as forecasted for a space mission like SNAP/JDEM, combined with future expectations for the cosmic microwave background shift parameter R and the baryonic acoustic oscillation parameter A.