Detecting chameleons through Casimir force measurements

Journal Article · Sat Dec 15 04:00:00 EST 2007 · Physical Review. D, Particles Fields

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PHYSREVD.76.124034· OSTI ID:21024059

Brax, Philippe ^[1]; Bruck, Carsten van de ^[2]; Davis, Anne-Christine; Shaw, Douglas ^[3]; Mota, David F ^[4]

---

1. Service de Physique Theorique CEA/DSM/SPhT, Unite de recherche associee au CNRS, CEA-Saclay F-91191 Gif/Yvette cedex (France)
2. Department of Applied Mathematics, The University of Sheffield, Hounsfield Road, Sheffield S3 7RH (United Kingdom)
3. Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, Centre for Mathematical Sciences, Cambridge CB2 0WA (United Kingdom)
4. Institut fuer Theoretische Physik, Universitaet Heidelberg, Philosophenweg 16/19, D-69120 Heidelberg (Germany)

The best laboratory constraints on strongly coupled chameleon fields come not from tests of gravity per se but from precision measurements of the Casimir force. The chameleonic force between two nearby bodies is more akin to a Casimir-like force than a gravitational one: The chameleon force behaves as an inverse power of the distance of separation between the surfaces of two bodies, just as the Casimir force does. Additionally, experimental tests of gravity often employ a thin metallic sheet to shield electrostatic forces; however, this sheet masks any detectable signal due to the presence of a strongly coupled chameleon field. As a result of this shielding, experiments that are designed to specifically test the behavior of gravity are often unable to place any constraint on chameleon fields with a strong coupling to matter. Casimir force measurements do not employ a physical electrostatic shield and as such are able to put tighter constraints on the properties of chameleons fields with a strong matter coupling than tests of gravity. Motivated by this, we perform a full investigation on the possibility of testing chameleon models with both present and future Casimir experiments. We find that present-day measurements are not able to detect the chameleon. However, future experiments have a strong possibility of detecting or rule out a whole class of chameleon models.

• OSTI ID: 21024059
• Journal Information: Physical Review. D, Particles Fields, Journal Name: Physical Review. D, Particles Fields Journal Issue: 12 Vol. 76; ISSN PRVDAQ; ISSN 0556-2821
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS
ACCURACY
CASIMIR EFFECT
COUPLING
GRAVITATION
QUANTUM ELECTRODYNAMICS
SURFACES
TWO-BODY PROBLEM