Bounds on screened dark energy from near-Earth space-based measurements

TL;DR

This paper uses near-Earth space-based experiments to place new bounds on screened dark energy models like chameleon, symmetron, and dilaton, showing space experiments can significantly constrain these theories.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed analysis of how space-based measurements can test and constrain screened dark energy models in a post-Newtonian framework.

Findings

LAGEOS-2 provides the strongest Earth-orbit bounds on symmetron and dilaton.

A Sagnac setup with state-of-the-art clocks yields the tightest chameleon constraints.

Future nuclear-clock precision could exclude the entire considered chameleon parameter space.

Abstract

We test screened dark energy with near-Earth, space-based measurements. In a post-Newtonian framework, we compute leading corrections to geodetic precession (Gravity Probe B), LAGEOS-2 pericenter advance, and the Sagnac delay in a prospective orbital configuration, yielding bounds on chameleon, symmetron, and dilaton models. LAGEOS-2 sets the strongest Earth-orbit limits on symmetron and dilaton, while a Sagnac setup at the projected sensitivity of state-of-the-art space clocks gives the tightest chameleon constraint. These results show that low-density, space-based experiments sensitively probe screened dark energy and exclude previously allowed parameter space. Notably, at nuclear-clock precision $\mathcal{O}\big(10^{-19}\big)$, a Sagnac test would exclude the entire chameleon parameter space considered.