Tuning the Mass of Chameleon Fields in Casimir Force Experiments

TL;DR

This paper investigates how an intervening medium affects the chameleon field's pressure between plates, revealing a screening effect that could influence future Casimir force experiments searching for chameleon particles.

Contribution

It provides a calculation of the chameleon pressure considering an intervening medium, highlighting the medium's impact on screening effects in Casimir force setups.

Findings

Gas in the gap weakens the chameleon interaction

Screening effect increases with plate separation

Medium density influences the chameleon mass and pressure

Abstract

We have calculated the chameleon pressure between two parallel plates in the presence of an intervening medium that affects the mass of the chameleon field. As intuitively expected, the gas in the gap weakens the chameleon interaction mechanism with a screening effect that increases with the plate separation and with the density of the intervening medium. This phenomenon might open up new directions in the search of chameleon particles with future long range Casimir force experiments.