Related papers: Constraining chameleon field theories using the Ga…
Chameleon gravity is a scalar-tensor theory that includes a non-minimal coupling between the scalar field and the matter fields and yet mimics general relativity in the Solar System. The scalar degree of freedom is hidden in high-density…
On cosmological scales, observations of the cluster abundance currently place the strongest constraints on f(R) gravity. These constraints lie in the large-field limit, where the modifications of general relativity can correctly be modeled…
Theories that attempt to explain cosmic acceleration by modifying gravity typically introduces a long-range scalar force that needs to be screened on small scales. One common screening mechanism is the chameleon, where the scalar force is…
Detection of delayed sub-TeV photons from Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) by MAGIC and HESS has proven the promising future of GRB afterglow studies with the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA), the next-generation gamma-ray observatory. With the…
Indications of a GeV component in the emission from GRBs are known since the EGRET observations during the 1990's and they have been confirmed by the data of the Fermi satellite. These results have, however, shown that our understanding of…
Viable modifications of gravity that may produce cosmic acceleration need to be screened in high-density regions such as the Solar System, where general relativity is well tested. Screening mechanisms also prevent strong anomalies in the…
The idea that dark-matter interactions with Standard-Model particles may be mediated by new bosons with masses in the MeV-to-GeV range took off several years ago. Constraints on such models were soon calculated based on older measurements.…
Recently, a new method to constrain the distances of blazars with unknown redshift using combined observations in the GeV and TeV regimes has been developed. The underlying assumption is that the Very High Energy (VHE, E > 100 GeV) spectrum…
I study the profile of the Chameleon field around a radially pulsating mass. Focusing on the case in which the background (static) Chameleon profile exhibits a thin-shell, I add small perturbations to the source in the form of…
The paper discusses a particular model of chameleon gravity where the scalar field has an exponential as $V=M^{4}\exp(\frac{\alpha\phi}{M_{pl}})$ and an exponential coupling to the matter density component of the Universe as…
A number of new balloon or space-based $\gamma$-ray observatories have been proposed to close a "MeV gap" in sensitivity to $\gamma$ rays in the MeV-GeV energy band. One aspect of the science case for these instruments is their ability to…
The dark-matter candidates of particle physics invariably possess electromagnetic interactions, if only via quantum fluctuations. Taken en masse, dark matter can thus engender an index of refraction which deviates from its vacuum value. Its…
Particle dark matter could have a mass anywhere from that of ultralight candidates, $m_\chi\sim 10^{-21}\,$eV, to scales well above the GeV. Conventional laboratory searches are sensitive to a range of masses close to the weak scale, while…
We investigate the solar-system constraint on the f(R) theory of modified gravity with chameleon mechanism, where f(R) represents the deviation from general relativity in the gravity action. We obtain a stringent bound to a general,…
Gamma ray burst (GRB) afterglow light curves have the potential to inform us about presently unobserved stages in the aftermath of a neutron star merger. Using numerical simulations of short GRB afterglows we obtain an approximate…
Using a novel and self-consistent approach that avoids the scalar-tensor identification in the Einstein frame, we reanalyze the viability of f(R) gravity within the context of solar-system tests. In order to do so, we depart from a simple…
This article investigates the properties of a scalar fifth force that arises in a scalar tensor-theory with a chameleon screening mechanism in the context of gravity space missions like the MICROSCOPE experiment. In such an experiment, the…
We investigate laboratory tests of dark energy theories which modify gravity in a way generalising the inverse power law chameleon models. We make use of the tomographic description of such theories which captures $f(R)$ models in the large…
(Abridged) The ammonia method, which has been proposed to explore the electron-to-proton mass ratio, mu = m_e/m_p, is applied to nearby dark clouds in the Milky Way. This ratio, which is measured in different physical environments of high…
The energy requirements of gamma ray bursts have in past been poorly constrained because of three major uncertainties: The distances to bursts, the degree of burst beaming, and the efficiency of gamma ray production. The first of these has…