Scalar field–perfect fluid correspondence and nonlinear perturbation equations

The properties of dynamical Dark Energy (DE) and, in particular, the possibility that it can form or contribute to stable inhomogeneities, have been widely debated in recent literature, also in association to a possible coupling between DE and Dark Matter (DM). In order to clarify this issue, in this paper we present a general framework for the study of the nonlinear phases of structure formation, showing the equivalence between two possible descriptions of DE: a scalar field φ self–interacting through a potential V (φ) and a perfect fluid with an assigned negative equation of state w(a). This enables us to show that, in the presence of coupling, the mass of DE quanta may increase where large DM condensations are present, so that also DE may partake to the clustering process.