$\varphi$enics: Vainshtein screening with the finite element method

TL;DR

This paper introduces $ienics$, a finite element code based on FEniCS, designed to numerically solve complex, nonlinear equations in modified gravity theories with screening mechanisms, exemplified by Vainshtein screening.

Contribution

The paper presents a new numerical tool, $ienics$, capable of solving nonlinear, high-order derivative equations in screening theories, with functionalities for post-processing and validation.

Findings

Successfully solves equations in two screening models

Demonstrates the code's ability to handle high-order derivatives

Provides a framework adaptable to other screening theories

Abstract

Within the landscape of modified theories of gravity, progress in understanding the behaviour of, and developing tests for, screening mechanisms has been hindered by the complexity of the field equations involved, which are nonlinear in nature and characterised by a large hierarchy of scales. This is especially true of Vainshtein screening, where the fifth force is suppressed by high-order derivative terms which dominate within a radius much larger than the size of the source, known as the Vainshtein radius. In this work, we present the numerical code $\varphi$enics, building on the FEniCS library, to solve the full equations of motion from two theories of interest for screening: a model containing high-order derivative operators in the equation of motion and one characterised by nonlinear self-interactions in two coupled scalar fields. We also include functionalities that allow the computation of higher-order operators of the scalar fields in post-processing, enabling us to check that the profiles we find are consistent solutions within the effective field theory. These two examples illustrate the different challenges experienced when trying to simulate such theories numerically, and we show how these are addressed within this code. The examples in this paper assume spherical symmetry, but the techniques may be straightforwardly generalised to asymmetric configurations. This article therefore also provides a worked example of how the finite element method can be employed to solve the screened equations of motion. $\varphi$enics is publicly available and can be adapted to solve other theories of screening.