Falsifying Paradigms for Cosmic Acceleration
Huterer, Dragan (University of Michigan)

How can we rule out whole classes of dark energy models? And what quantities, at what redshift, and with what accuracy, should be measured in order to rule out these classes of models? I present answers to these questions by discussing an approach that utilizes the principal component parametrization of dark energy. I show results based on current data, and future forecasted data from a space-based dark energy mission and Planck. Finally, using the same basic framework I present a quantitative analysis motivated by recent claims that the number of high-redshift, high-mass galaxy clusters (the 'pink elephant' clusters) is in disagreement with the standard cosmological model predictions.