Screened Scalar Fields in the Laboratory and the Solar System

Abstract

The last few decades have provided abundant evidence for physics beyond the two standard models of particle physics and cosmology. As is now known, the by far largest part of our universe’s matter/energy content lies in the ‘dark’, and consists of dark energy and dark matter. Despite intensive efforts on the experimental as well as the theoretical side, the origins of both are still completely unknown. Screened scalar fields have been hypothesized as potential candidates for dark energy or dark matter. Among these, some of the most prominent models are the chameleon, symmetron, and environment-dependent dilaton. In this article, we present a summary containing the most recent experimental constraints on the parameters of these three models. For this, experimental results have been employed from the qBounce collaboration, neutron interferometry, and Lunar Laser Ranging (LLR), among others. In addition, constraints are forecast for the Casimir and Non-Newtonian force Experiment (Cannex). Combining these results with previous ones, this article collects the most up-to-date constraints on the three considered screened scalar field models.