The evolution of the dark energy (DE) density is a crucial quantity for understanding the nature of DE. Often, the quantity is described by the so-called equation of state; that is, the ratio of the DE pressure to its density. In this scenario, the DE density is always positive throughout cosmic history, and a negative value is not allowed. Assuming a homogeneous and isotropic universe, we reconstruct the DE density directly from observational data and investigate its evolution throughout cosmic history. We consider the latest Type Ia supernova, baryon acoustic oscillation, and cosmic chronometer data, and reconstruct the DE density in both flat and nonflat universes up to redshift z ∼ 3. The results are well in agreement with ΛCDM up to redshift z ∼ 1.5, but we see a weak sign of negative DE density at high redshifts.
