Related papers: Constraining chameleon field theories using the Ga…
In chameleon field theories a scalar field can couple to matter with gravitational strength and still evade local gravity constraints due to a combination of self-interactions and the couplings to matter. Originally, these theories were…
A light scalar field framework of dark energy, sometimes referred to as quintessence, introduces a fifth force between normal matter objects. Screening mechanisms, such as the chameleon model, allow the scalar field to be almost massless on…
Certain scalar-tensor theories exhibit the so-called chameleon mechanism, whereby observational signatures of scalar fields are hidden by a combination of self-interactions and interactions with ambient matter. Not all scalar-tensor…
Chameleon and symmetron theories serve as archetypal models for how light scalar fields can couple to matter with gravitational strength or greater, yet evade the stringent constraints from classical tests of gravity on Earth and in the…
We consider different methods to probe chameleons with slow neutrons. Chameleon modify the potential of bouncing neutrons over a flat mirror in the terrestrial gravitational field. This induces a shift in the energy levels of the neutrons…
Chameleons are scalar fields whose mass depends on the environment, specifically on the ambient matter density. While nearly massless in the cosmos, where the matter density is tiny, their mass is of order of an inverse millimeter on Earth,…
We propose a novel method to test the gravitational interactions in the outskirts of galaxy clusters. When gravity is modified, this is typically accompanied by the introduction of an additional scalar degree of freedom, which mediates an…
We explore a chameleon type of interacting dark matter-dark energy scenario in which a scalar field adiabatically traces the minimum of an effective potential sourced by the dark matter density. We discuss extensively the effect of this…
Light scalar fields can drive the accelerated expansion of the universe. Hence, they are obvious dark energy candidates. To make such models compatible with tests of General Relativity in the solar system and "fifth force" searches on…
Chameleon mechanism appearing in massive tensor-scalar theory of gravity can effectively reduce locally the non-minimal coupling between the scalar field and matter. This mechanism is invoked to reconcile large-scale departures from general…
The chameleon scalar field is a matter-coupled dark energy candidate whose nonlinear self-interaction partially screens its fifth force at laboratory scales. Nevertheless, small-scale experiments such as the torsion pendulum can provide…
Light scalar fields are expected to arise in theories of high energy physics (such as string theory), and find phenomenological motivations in dark energy, dark matter, or neutrino physics. However, the coupling of light scalar fields to…
Atom interferometry experiments are searching for evidence of chameleon scalar fields with ever-increasing precision. As experiments become more precise, so too must theoretical predictions. Previous work has made numerous approximations to…
Theories of dark energy require a screening mechanism to explain why the associated scalar fields do not mediate observable long range fifth forces. The archetype of this is the chameleon field. Here we show that individual atoms are too…
We have calculated the chameleon pressure between two parallel plates in the presence of an intervening medium that affects the mass of the chameleon field. As intuitively expected, the gas in the gap weakens the chameleon interaction…
We constrain the Chameleon \textit{screening} mechanism in galaxy clusters, essentially obtaining limits on the coupling strength $\beta$ and the asymptotic value of the field $\phi_{\infty}$. For this purpose, we utilized a collection of…
We review some recent developments in chameleon models. In particular we discuss the possibility of chameleons coupling both to photons and baryonic matter with different coupling strengths. We will discuss the possibility of probing the…
The physical origin of the dark energy that causes the accelerated expansion rate of the universe is one of the major open questions of cosmology. One set of theories postulates the existence of a self-interacting scalar field for dark…
We discuss some recent developments in chameleon models presented at the Fourth Patras workshop on Axions, WIMPs and WISPs. In particular we discuss the possibility of searching for chameleons in axion-like particle searches performed in…
In chameleon dark energy models, local gravity constraints tend to rule out parameters in which observable cosmological signatures can be found. We study viable chameleon potentials consistent with a number of recent observational and…