Search

The discovery of cosmic acceleration has stimulated theorists to consider dark energy or modifications to Einstein's General Relativity as possible explanations. The last decade has seen advances in theories that go beyond smooth dark energy -- modified gravity and interactions of dark energy. While the theoretical terrain is being actively explored, the generic presence of fifth forces and dark sector couplings suggests a set of distinct observational signatures. This report focuses on observations that differ from the conventional probes that map the expansion history or large-scale structure. Examples of such novel probes are: detection of scalar fields via lab experiments, tests of modified gravity using stars and galaxies in the nearby universe, comparison of lensing and dynamical masses of galaxies and clusters, and the measurements of fundamental constants at high redshift. The observational expertise involved is very broad as it spans laboratory experiments, high resolution astronomical imaging and spectroscopy and radio observations. In the coming decade, searches for these effects have the potential for discovering fundamental new physics. We discuss how the searches can be carried out using experiments that are already under way or with modest adaptations of existing telescopes or planned experiments. The accompanying paper on the Growth of Cosmic Structure describes complementary tests of gravity with observations of large-scale structure., Comment: Report from the "Dark Energy and CMB" working group for the American Physical Society's Division of Particles and Fields long-term planning exercise ("Snowmass")

Modifications to General Relativity typically introduce a scalar degree of freedom. Experimental constraints require that the "fifth" force produced by this field must be screened in high density environments. An important consequence of the screening mechanism is that the scalar charge of a spherically symmetric expanding or pulsating object, such as a supernova or variable star, is not conserved and monopole radiation can be emitted thereby. We calculate the energy loss rate due to scalar monopole radiation in supernovae and variable stars for a generalized model of f(R) gravity in which the matter coupling strength beta is allowed to be much larger than unity. For models which become screened at the gravitational potential of our galaxy, monopole radiation constraints require beta < 100., Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures

Chameleon dark energy is a matter-coupled scalar field which hides its fifth forces locally by becoming massive. We estimate torsion pendulum constraints on the residual fifth forces due to models with gravitation-strength couplings. Experiments such as Eot-Wash are on the verge of ruling out "quantum-stable" chameleon models, in which quantum corrections to the chameleon field and mass remain small. We also consider photon-coupled chameleons, which can be tested by afterglow experiments such as CHASE., Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures. Contributed to the 8th Patras Workshop on Axions, WIMPs and WISPs, Chicago, July 18-22, 2012

The symmetron scalar field is a matter-coupled dark energy candidate which effectively decouples from matter in high-density regions through a symmetry restoration. We consider a previously unexplored regime, in which the vacuum mass $\mu \sim 2.4\times 10^{-3}$ eV of the symmetron is near the dark energy scale, and the matter coupling parameter $M \sim 1$ TeV is just beyond Standard Model energies. Such a field will give rise to a fifth force at submillimeter distances which can be probed by short-range gravity experiments. We show that a torsion pendulum experiment such as E\"ot-Wash can exclude symmetrons in this regime for all self-couplings $\lambda \lesssim 7.5$., Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures. Matches version accepted by PRL

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 powerful constraints on chameleon models. Here we develop a simple approximation for computing chameleon fifth forces in torsion pendulum experiments such as Eot-Wash. We show that our approximation agrees well with published constraints on the quartic chameleon, and we use it to extend these constraints to a much wider range of models. Finally, we forecast the constraints which will result from the next-generation Eot-Wash experiment, and show that this experiment will exclude a wide range of quantum-stable models., Comment: 15 pages, 17 figures; matches version accepted by PRD

Chameleon fields, which are scalar field dark energy candidates, can evade fifth force constraints by becoming massive in high-density regions. However, this property allows chameleon particles to be trapped inside a vacuum chamber with dense walls. Afterglow experiments constrain photon-coupled chameleon fields by attempting to produce and trap chameleon particles inside such a vacuum chamber, from which they will emit an afterglow as they regenerate photons. Here we discuss several theoretical and systematic effects underlying the design and analysis of the GammeV and CHASE afterglow experiments. We consider chameleon particle interactions with photons, Fermions, and other chameleon particles, as well as with macroscopic magnetic fields and matter. The afterglow signal in each experiment is predicted, and its sensitivity to various properties of the experimental apparatus is studied. Finally, we use CHASE data to exclude a wide range of photon-coupled chameleon dark energy models., Comment: 29 pages, 31 figures, 1 table

Chameleon scalar fields are dark energy candidates which suppress fifth forces in high density regions of the universe by becoming massive. We consider chameleon models as effective field theories and estimate quantum corrections to their potentials. Requiring that quantum corrections be small, so as to allow reliable predictions of fifth forces, leads to an upper bound $m < 0.0073 (\rho / 10 {\rm g\, cm}^{-3})^{1/3}$eV for gravitational strength coupling whereas fifth force experiments place a lower bound of $m>0.0042$\,eV. An improvement of less than a factor of two in the range of fifth force experiments could test all classical chameleon field theories whose quantum corrections are well-controlled and couple to matter with nearly gravitational strength regardless of the specific form of the chameleon potential., Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures. Matches version accepted by PRL

We report results from the GammeV Chameleon Afterglow Search---a search for chameleon particles created via photon/chameleon oscillations within a magnetic field. This experiment is sensitive to a wide class of chameleon power-law models and dark energy models not previously explored. These results exclude five orders of magnitude in the coupling of chameleons to photons covering a range of four orders of magnitude in chameleon effective mass and, for individual chameleon models, exclude between 4 and 12 orders of magnitude in chameleon couplings to matter., Comment: 5 pages, Submission to PRL

We refute recent claims in the literature that stars with relativistically deep potentials cannot exist in $f(R)$ gravity. Numerical examples of stable stars, including relativistic ($GM_\star/r_\star \sim 0.1$), constant density stars, are studied. As a star is made larger, non-linear "chameleon" effects screen much of the star's mass, stabilizing gravity at the stellar center. Furthermore, we show that the onset of this chameleon screening is unrelated to strong gravity. At large central pressures $P>\rho/3$, $f(R)$ gravity, like general relativity, does have a maximum gravitational potential, but at a slightly smaller value: $GM_\star/r_\star = 0.345 < 4/9$ for constant density and one choice of parameters. This difference is associated with negative central curvature $R$ under general relativity not being accessed in the $f(R)$ model, but does not apply to any known astrophysical object., Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures