Constraints on axion and corrections to Newtonian gravity from the Casimir effect

TL;DR

This paper reviews how measurements of the Casimir effect impose constraints on axion-like particles and modifications to Newtonian gravity, comparing these with other experimental bounds across a wide mass range.

Contribution

It compiles and compares recent experimental constraints on axion-nucleon couplings and gravity corrections derived from Casimir effect measurements, proposing ways to improve these bounds.

Findings

Casimir experiments set competitive bounds on axion-nucleon couplings.

Constraints on Yukawa and power-law gravity corrections are derived from Casimir data.

Potential to strengthen axion constraints using Casimir effect measurements.

Abstract

Axion is a light pseudoscalar particle of much interest for physics of elementary particles and for astrophysics. We review the recently obtained constraints on axion to nucleon coupling constants following from different experiments on measuring the Casimir interaction. These constraints are compared with those following from other laboratory experiments within the wide range of masses of axion-like particles from 10^{-10} to 20 eV. We also collect the most strong constraints on the Yukawa-type and power-type corrections to the Newton law of gravitation which follow from measurements of the Casimir interaction, Eotvos- and Cavendish-type experiments. The possibility to obtain stronger constraints on an axion from the Casimir effect is proposed.