Related papers: How do you know if you ran through a wall?
Light scalar fields, with double well potentials and direct matter couplings, undergo density driven phase transitions, leading to the formation of domain walls. Such theories could explain dark energy, dark matter or source the nanoHz…
Ultralight bosons such as axion-like particles are viable candidates for dark matter. They can form stable, macroscopic field configurations in the form of topological defects that could concentrate the dark matter density into many…
Light (pseudo-)scalar fields are promising candidates to be the dark matter in the Universe. Under certain initial conditions in the early Universe and/or with certain types of self-interactions, they can form compact dark-matter objects…
The Global Network of Optical Magnetometers for Exotic physics searches (GNOME) is a network of time-synchronized, geographically separated, optically pumped atomic magnetometers that is being used to search for correlated transient signals…
We propose schemes for the detection of topological defect dark matter using pulsars and other luminous extraterrestrial systems via non-gravitational signatures. The dark matter field, which makes up a defect, may interact with standard…
The cosmological scenario where the Peccei-Quinn symmetry is broken after inflation is investigated. In this scenario, topological defects such as strings and domain walls produce a large number of axions, which contribute to the cold dark…
An ultra-light axion with CP violating interactions with a dark sector and CP preserving interactions with the visible sector can act as a novel portal between dark matter and the Standard Model. In such theories, dark matter sources an…
The total mass density of the Universe appears to be dominated by dark matter. However, beyond its gravitational interactions at the galactic scale, little is known about its nature. Extensions of the quantum electrodynamics Lagrangian with…
The existence and detection of scalar fields could provide solutions to long-standing puzzles about the nature of dark matter, the dark compact objects at the centre of most galaxies, and other phenomena. Yet, self-interacting scalar fields…
A cosmic scalar field evolving very slowly in time can account for the observed dark energy of the Universe. Unlike a cosmological constant, an evolving scalar field also has local spatial gradients due to gravity. If the scalar field has a…
Domain walls arise in theories where there is spontaneous symmetry breaking of a discrete symmetry such as $\mathbb{Z}_{N}$ and are a feature of many BSM models. In this work we consider the possibility of detecting domain walls through…
We show that, as a result of non-linear self-interactions, it is feasible, at least in light of the bounds coming from terrestrial tests of gravity, measurements of the Casimir force and those constraints imposed by the physics of compact…
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 present an overview of recent developments in the detection of light bosonic dark matter, including axion, pseudoscalar axion-like and scalar dark matter, which form either a coherently oscillating classical field or topological defects…
Cosmological observations indicate that 85% of all matter in the Universe is dark matter (DM), yet its microscopic composition remains a mystery. One hypothesis is that DM arises from ultralight quantum fields that form macroscopic objects…
Given the wealth of increasingly accurate cosmological observations, especially the recent results from the WMAP, and the development of methods and strategies in the search for cosmic topology, it is reasonable to expect that we should be…
We consider a model with two real scalar fields which admits phantom domain wall solutions. We investigate the structure and evolution of these phantom domain walls in an expanding homogeneous and isotropic universe. In particular, we show…
Long range scalar fields with a coupling to matter appear to violate known bounds on gravitation in the solar system and the laboratory. This is evaded thanks to screening mechanisms. In this short review, we shall present the various…
We propose to search for scalar dark matter via its effects on the electromagnetic fine-structure constant and particle masses. Scalar dark matter that forms an oscillating classical field produces `slow' linear-in-time drifts and…
The cosmological applications of atomic clocks so far have been limited to searches of the uniform-in-time drift of fundamental constants. In this paper, we point out that a transient in time change of fundamental constants can be induced…