Scaling Dark Energy

We investigate the possibility of a dark energy component that is scaling with epochs. A phenomenological model is introduced whose energy density depends on the redshift in such a way that a smooth transition among the three dominant phases of the universe evolution (radiation era, matter domination, asymptotic de Sitter state) is achieved. We use the WMAP cosmic microwave background data and the luminosity distances of Type Ia Supernovae to test whether this data can provide a signal for scaling.