Chameleons with Field Dependent Couplings
Abstract
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 theories exhibit such a chameleon mechanism, which has been originally found in models with inverse power run-away potentials and field independent couplings to matter. In this paper we investigate field-theories with field-dependent couplings and a power-law potential for the scalar field. We show that the theory indeed is a chameleon field theory. We find the thin-shell solution for a spherical body and investigate the consequences for E\"ot-Wash experiments, fifth-force searches and Casimir force experiments. Requiring that the scalar-field evades gravitational tests, we find that the coupling is sensitive to a mass-scale which is of order of the Hubble scale today.
Cite
@article{arxiv.1006.2796,
title = {Chameleons with Field Dependent Couplings},
author = {Philippe Brax and Carsten van de Bruck and David F. Mota and Nelson J. Nunes and Hans A. Winther},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1006.2796},
year = {2014}
}
Comments
17 pages, 20 figures