Laboratory Tests of the Galileon

TL;DR

This paper explores how laboratory experiments like the Casimir effect can be used to detect or constrain Galileon scalar fields, which are theoretical models that modify gravity without conflicting with solar system tests.

Contribution

It demonstrates the use of laboratory measurements to set bounds on Galileon parameters, providing new constraints on these theoretical models.

Findings

Current experiments constrain a previously unbounded combination of Galileon parameters.

Laboratory tests can effectively probe scalar fields that evade solar system constraints.

The results improve understanding of scalar-tensor theories in controlled settings.

Abstract

The Galileon model is a ghost free scalar effective field theory containing higher derivative terms that are protected by the Galileon symmetry. The presence of a Vainshtein screening mechanism allows the scalar field to couple to matter without mediating unacceptably large fifth forces in the solar system. We describe how laboratory measurements of the Casimir effect and possible deviations from Newtonian gravity can be used to search for Galileon scalar fields. Current experimental measurements are used to bound a previously unconstrained combination of Galileon parameters.