  In this talk, I will present highlights of a recent model of dark energy and
dark matter in which the present universe is ``trapped'' in a {\em false
vacuum} described by the potential of an axion-like scalar field (the
acceleron) which is related to a new strong interaction gauge sector,
$SU(2)_Z$, characterized by a scale $\Lambda_Z \sim 3 \times 10^{-3} eV$. This
false vacuum model mimicks the $\Lambda CDM$ scenario. In addition, there are
several additional implications such as a new mechanism for leptogenesis coming
from the decay of a ``messenger'' scalar field, as well as a new model of
``low-scale'' inflation whose inflaton is the ``radial'' partner of the
acceleron.
