In this work, we study tracker phantom dark energy models with a general parametrization of the scalar potentials. Our analysis also considers the scenario of having both phantom field and the cosmological constant as the dark energy components. A detailed statistical analysis with current cosmological observations shows an increase in the value of the Hubble parameter due to the presence of phantom dark energy but it cannot alleviate the Hubble tension completely. Our results using Bayesian methods suggest a decisive evidence in favor of a phantom field over a positive cosmological constant, although the possibility of a negative cosmological constant cannot be ruled out, hidden in the dark sector.

• Received 21 May 2021
• Accepted 19 October 2021

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.104.123502