Evading Equivalence Principle Violations, Cosmological and other Experimental Constraints in Scalar Field Theories with a Strong Coupling to Matter

Abstract

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 objects, big-bang nucleosynthesis and measurements of the cosmic microwave background, for there to exist, in our Universe, one or more scalar fields that couple to matter much more strongly than gravity does. These scalar fields behave like chameleons: changing their properties to fit their surroundings. As a result these scalar fields can be not only very strongly coupled to matter, but also remain relatively light over solar system scales. These fields could also be detected by a number of future experiments provided they are properly designed to do so. These results open up an altogether new window, which might lead to a completely different view of the role played by light scalar fields in particle physics and cosmology.

72 pages, 13 figures. New section on the Casimir Effect and experimental tests. Tighther constraints on the models have now been obtained. Sections of the mathematical formalism and experimental bounds were re-written and clarified. Number of pages reduced due to revtex4 format

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• Tests of the Gravitational Inverse-Square Law below the Dark-Energy Length Scale
• Cosmology and Astrophysical Constraints of Gauss-Bonnet Dark Energy
• Galilean Equivalence for Galactic Dark Matter

Cited by in corpus (40)

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• Constraining Interactions in Cosmology's Dark Sector
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• Detecting Chameleons through Casimir Force Measurements
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• Gauss-Bonnet cosmologies: crossing the phantom divide and the transition from matter dominance to dark energy
• Constraining Dark Energy Anisotropic Stress
• New Experimental limit on Optical Photon Coupling to Neutral, Scalar Bosons
• Can higher curvature corrections cure the singularity problem in f(R) gravity?
• Neutrino Dark Energy -- Revisiting the Stability Issue
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• Testing Chameleon Theories with Light Propagating through a Magnetic Field
• A search for chameleon particles using a photon regeneration technique
• The Effect of a Chameleon Scalar Field on the Cosmic Microwave Background
• Alpenglow - A Signature for Chameleons in Axion-Like Particle Search Experiments
• Microscopic and Macroscopic Behaviors of Palatini Modified Gravity Theories
• Supernova Brightening from Chameleon-Photon Mixing
• Hidden in the Light: Magnetically Induced Afterglow from Trapped Chameleon Fields
• The spherical collapse model and cluster formation beyond the $\Lambda$ cosmology: Indications for a clustered dark energy?
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• Probing Dark Energy at Galactic and Cluster Scales
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• Reconstructing a model of quintessential inflation
• Indistinguishable Macroscopic Behaviour of Palatini Gravities and General Relativity
• The Abnormally Weighting Energy Hypothesis: the Missing Link between Dark Matter and Dark Energy
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• Testing Alternative Theories of Dark Matter with the CMB
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