Experiment to Detect Dark Energy Forces Using Atom Interferometry

Sabulsky, Dylan O.; Dutta, Indranil; Hinds, E. A.; Elder, Benjamin; Burrage, Clare; Copeland, Edmund J.

doi:10.1103/physrevlett.123.061102

Cited by 131 publications

(100 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…Local gravity experiments on the existence of a fifth force provide already strong constraints on the existence of the chameleon field [17,18]. The main bounds typically come from atom interferometry [19,20], Casimir effect measurements [21] or torsion balance experiments to detect short scale forces [22]. Other efforts could lead to new advances by improving sensitivity or by imagining more original signatures [23].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

General study of chameleon fifth force in gravity space experiments

et al. 2019

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This article investigates the profile of the scalar field of a scalar-tensor theory subject to the chameleon mechanism in the context of gravity space missions like the MICROSCOPE experiment. It analyses the experimental situations for models with an inverse power law potential that can in principle induce a fifth force inside the satellite, hence either be detected or constrained. As the mass of the scalar field depends on the local matter density, the screening of the scalar field depends crucially on both the parameters of the theory (potential and non-minimal coupling to matter) and on the geometry of the satellite. We calculate the profile of the scalar field in 1-, 2-and 3-dimensional satellite configurations without relying on the thick or thin shell approximations for the scalar field. In particular we consider the typical geometry with nested cylinders which is close to the MICROSCOPE design. In this case we evaluate the corresponding fifth force on a test body inside the satellite. This analysis clarifies previous claims on the detectability of the chameleon force by space-borne experiments.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

General study of chameleon fifth force in gravity space experiments

et al. 2019

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“…[60] for a description of the algorithm, as well as Refs. [35,36]). This has allowed us to assess the validity of the solutions obtained by two different solvers.…”

Section: Plate and Sphere Ii: Numerical Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Besides cosmological and astrophysical tests, symmetrons can also be tested in laboratory experiments. Notably, atom interferometry experiments have been able to constrain them significantly [34][35][36]. These are complemented by torsion balance experiments [37,38].…”

Section: Vainshteinmentioning

confidence: 99%

Classical symmetron force in Casimir experiments

Elder

Vardanyan²,

Akrami³

et al. 2020

Phys. Rev. D

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The symmetron is a typical example of screened modified gravity, wherein the symmetron force is dynamically suppressed in dense environments. This allows it to hide in traditional tests of gravity. However, the past decade has seen great experimental progress towards measuring screened forces in the laboratory or in space. Screening relies on nonlinearities in the equation of motion, which significantly complicates the theoretical analysis of such forces. Here, we present a calculation of the symmetron force between a dense plate and sphere surrounded by vacuum. This is done via semi-analytical approaches in two limiting cases, based on the size of the sphere: large spheres are analyzed via the proximity force approximation, whilst small spheres are treated as screened test particles. In the intermediate regime we solve the problem numerically. Our results allow us to make contact with Casimir force experiments, which often employ a plate and sphere configuration for practical reasons, and may therefore be used to constrain symmetrons. We use our results to forecast constraints on the symmetron's parameters for a hypothetical Casimir experiment that is based on the current state of the art. The forecasts compare favorably to other leading laboratory tests of gravity, particularly atom interferometry and bouncing neutrons. We thus conclude that near-future Casimir experiments will be capable of placing tight new bounds on symmetrons. Our results for the symmetron force are derived in a scale-invariant way, such that although we here focus on Casimir experiments, they may be applied to any other plate-sphere system, ranging from microscopic to astrophysical scales. CONTENTS

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“…[21] uses the one-dimensional plane-parallel (1Dpp) approximation for the symmetron field between two parallel plates, and Ref. [22] introduces a fitting factor of order 1 to extend the 1Dpp approximation to the interior of a vacuum chamber. Equation (14), on the contrary, is applicable to a wide range of (λ, µ, M ) with fixed geometric param- eters.…”

Section: Closed-form Expression For Estimating Symmetron Accelerationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Constraining symmetron dark energy using atom interferometry

Chiow

2020

Phys. Rev. D

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Symmetron field is one of the promising candidates of dark energy scalar fields. In all viable candidate field theories, a screening mechanism is implemented to be consistent with existing tests of general relativity. The screening effect in the symmetron theory manifests its influence only to the thin outer layer of a bulk object, where inside a dense material the symmetry of the field is restored and no force exists. For pointlike particles such as atoms, the depth of screening is larger than the size of the particle, such that the screening mechanism is ineffective and the symmetron force is fully expressed on the atomic test particles. Extra force measurements using atom interferometry are thus much more sensitive than bulk mass based measurements, and indeed have placed the most stringent constraints on the parameters characterizing symmetron field in certain region. There is however no clear direct connection between the laboratory measurements and astrophysical observations, where the constraints are far separated by 10 orders of magnitude in the parameter space. In this paper, we present a closed-form expression for the symmetron acceleration of realistic atomic experiments. The expression is validated through numerical simulations for a terrestrial fifth-force experiment using atom interferometry. As a result, we show the connection of the atomic measurement constraints to the astrophysical ones. We also estimate the attainable symmetron constraints from a previously proposed experiment in space intended for test of chameleon theory. The atomic constraints on the symmetron theory will be further improved by orders of magnitude.

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Experiment to Detect Dark Energy Forces Using Atom Interferometry

Cited by 131 publications

References 41 publications

General study of chameleon fifth force in gravity space experiments

General study of chameleon fifth force in gravity space experiments

Classical symmetron force in Casimir experiments

Constraining symmetron dark energy using atom interferometry

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