Related papers: Strongly coupled chameleon fields: possible test w…
We discuss the potential of the neutron Lloyd's mirror interferometer in a search for new interactions at small scales. We consider three hypothetical interactions that may be tested using the interferometer. The chameleon scalar field…
The chameleon scalar field is considered as a possible cause of accelerated expansion of the Universe. The chameleon field induces an interaction potential between a particle and a massive body. Previous experiments with falling cold…
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…
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…
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…
Light scalar fields are frequently used in modern physics, for example, as candidates for dark energy or dark matter. Open quantum dynamical effects, like frequency shifts, induced by such fields in probe particles used in interferometry…
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…
The accelerating expansion of the Universe, attributed to dark energy, has spurred interest in theories involving scalar fields such as chameleon field theories. These fields, which couple to matter with density-dependent effective mass,…
We present phase shift measurements for neutron matter waves in vacuum and in low pressure Helium using a method originally developed for neutron scattering length measurements in neutron interferometry. We search for phase shifts…
The consideration is presented of possible neutron experiments to search for new short-range spin-dependent forces. The spin-dependent nucleon-nucleon interaction between neutron and nuclei may cause different effects: phase shift of a…
The late-time accelerated expansion of the universe could be caused by a scalar field that is screened on small scales, as in chameleon or symmetron scenarios. We present an analogy between thin shell configurations of such scalar fields…
In the present work, it is shown that a chameleon scalar field having a nonminimal coupling with dark matter can give rise to a smooth transition from a decelerated to an accelerated phase of expansion for the universe. It is surprising to…
Starting from the assumption that the present accelerated expansion of the Universe is driven by a chameleon scalar field, the function describing a direct coupling between the matter content of the Universe and the scalar field is derived…
We calculate the chameleon field potential for ultracold neutrons, bouncing on top of one or between two neutron mirrors in the gravitational field of the Earth. For the resulting non--linear equations of motion we give approximate…
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.…
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…
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…
There is a deep connection between cosmology -- the science of the infinitely large --and particle physics -- the science of the infinitely small. This connection is particularly manifest in neutron particle physics. Basic properties of the…
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…
Scalar fields with a "chameleon" property, in which the effective particle mass is a function of its local environment, are common to many theories beyond the standard model and could be responsible for dark energy. If these fields couple…