Bayesian Search of Massive Scalar Fields from LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA Binaries

TL;DR

This paper presents the first Bayesian search for massive scalar fields in gravitational-wave data from LIGO/Virgo/KAGRA, setting new upper limits on their coupling and constraining scalar-Gauss-Bonnet gravity.

Contribution

It introduces a model-agnostic Bayesian method to search for massive scalar fields in gravitational-wave data and provides the most stringent bounds to date on their coupling.

Findings

No evidence for massive scalar fields was found.

Established the tightest constraints on scalar field coupling for masses below 2×10^{-12} eV.

Applied bounds to scalar-Gauss-Bonnet gravity, tightening previous limits.

Abstract

Massive scalar fields are promising candidates to address many unresolved problems in fundamental physics. We report the first model-agnostic Bayesian search of massive scalar fields in LIGO/Virgo/KAGRA gravitational-wave data. We find no evidence for such fields and place the most stringent upper limits on their coupling for scalar masses $\lesssim 2\times10^{-12}\,{\rm eV}$. We exemplify the strength of these bounds by applying them to massive scalar-Gauss-Bonnet gravity, finding the tightest constraints on the coupling constant to date, $\sqrt{\alpha_{\rm GB}}\lesssim 1\,{\rm km}$ for scalar masses $\lesssim 10^{-13}\,{\rm eV}$ to 90% confidence.