Search for environment-dependent dilatons

TL;DR

This paper presents the first experimental constraints on environment-dependent dilaton models for dark energy using data from qBounce and Lunar Laser Ranging, and forecasts future experimental exclusions.

Contribution

It provides the first constraints on dilaton parameters, analyzes screening mechanisms, and predicts future experimental sensitivities for this dark energy candidate.

Findings

Constraints on dilaton parameters from existing experiments

Analysis of screening mechanisms and symmetries

Forecasts for future experimental exclusions

Abstract

The environment-dependent dilaton field is a well-motivated candidate for dark energy and naturally arises in the strong coupling limit of string theory. In this article, we present the very first experimental constraints on the parameters of this model. For this, we employ data obtained from the qBounce collaboration and the Lunar Laser Ranging (LLR) experiment. Furthermore, we forecast expected exclusion plots for the Casimir And Non Newtonian force EXperiment (Cannex) soon to be realised in an improved setup. Finally, we provide a detailed analysis of the screening mechanism and additional symmetries of the dilaton field theory.