English

Quantum corrections to symmetron fifth-force profiles

High Energy Physics - Theory 2026-04-08 v2 Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology

Abstract

Nonlinear scalar-tensor theories of gravity have been considered as candidates for dark matter and dark energy. Often, they possess screening mechanisms, which allow the fifth force mediated by the additional scalar degree(s) of freedom to evade detection from local experiments. Their classical behaviour is well studied, but their quantum nature is relatively unexplored. We outline a Green's function method for obtaining the leading-order quantum corrections to the classical symmetron field profile, in the vicinity of a spherically symmetric extended source, in the planar limit. For parameters that experiments had previously ruled out, our calculations indicate that the symmetron force may be weaker than the classical field suggests.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2508.16726,
  title  = {Quantum corrections to symmetron fifth-force profiles},
  author = {Peter Millington and Michael Udemba},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2508.16726},
  year   = {2026}
}

Comments

47 pages, 16 figures

R2 v1 2026-07-01T05:02:22.067Z