LAUSR

The main goal of this work is to propose a generalized model of interacting dark energy which allows for the kinetic term of a scalar field to couple to the matter species a priori in the action. We derive the modified field equations, and present novel cosmological solutions for a specific coupled model. Using a dynamical system analysis, we study the influence of the kinetic coupling on the overall evolution of the system and on the cosmological parameters. Specifically, we show that the presence of the coupling may alter the dynamical nature of the critical points and can be used to enlarge the existence and stability regions of these. We also observe that the sign of $\dot{\phi}$ does not change in any physical orbit when this interaction is present. Regarding cosmological impacts, we show that the transfer of energy happens from the matter component into the scalar field, ultimately causing a dark matter-dark energy transition to happen earlier in the cosmic history. Finally, the effective equation of state parameter attains higher values when the coupling is stronger, causing the acceleration of the Universe to befall at latter times. We show how this theory encapsulates a wide variety of dark energy models already present in the literature.