Related papers: Laboratory constraints on chameleon dark energy an…
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…
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…
Chameleons are a well motivated scalar field that might explain the observed late time accelerated expansion of the universe. Chameleons possess the interesting property that their mass, and hence interaction range, is dependent on the…
Light scalar fields coupled to matter are a common consequence of theories of dark energy and attempts to solve the cosmological constant problem. The chameleon screening mechanism is commonly invoked in order to suppress the fifth forces…
Dark energy models, such as the chameleon, where the acceleration of the expansion of the universe results from the dynamics of a scalar field coupled to matter, suffer from the potential existence of a fifth force. Three known mechanisms…
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…
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…
It was recently argued that the observed PVLAS anomaly can be explained by chameleon field theories in which large deviations from Newton's law can be avoided. Here we present the predictions for the dichroism and the birefringence induced…
The nature of dark energy is one of the most outstanding problems in physical science, and various theories have been proposed. It is therefore essential to directly verify or rule out these theories experimentally. However, despite…
If dark energy --- which drives the accelerated expansion of the universe --- consists of a light scalar field, it might be detectable as a "fifth force" between normal-matter objects, in potential conflict with precision tests of gravity.…
Toward understanding of dark energy, we propose a novel method to directly produce a chameleon particle and force its decay under controlled gas pressure in a laboratory-based experiment. {\it Chameleon gravity}, characterized by its…
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,…
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…
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…
We report the first results of the GammeV experiment, a search for milli-eV mass particles with axion-like couplings to two photons. The search is performed using a "light shining through a wall" technique where incident photons oscillate…
We present a cursory overview of chameleon models of dark energy and their laboratory tests with an emphasis on optical and Casimir experiments. Optical experiments measuring the ellipticity of an initially polarised laser beam are…
We consider static, spherically symmetric equilibrium configurations consisting of fermionic dark matter nonminimally coupled to dark energy in the form of a quintessence scalar field. With the scalar field coupling function, the form of…
We review the tantalising prospect that the first evidence for the dark energy driving the observed acceleration of the Universe on giga-parsec scales may be found through metre scale laboratory based atom interferometry experiments. To do…
The DESIRE project aims to test chameleon field theories as potential candidates for dark energy. The chameleon field is a light scalar field that is subject to screening mechanisms in dense environments making them hardly detectable. The…
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…