• Open Access

Experiment to Detect Dark Energy Forces Using Atom Interferometry

D. O. Sabulsky, I. Dutta, E. A. Hinds, B. Elder, C. Burrage, and Edmund J. Copeland
Phys. Rev. Lett. 123, 061102 – Published 6 August 2019

Abstract

The accelerated expansion of the universe motivates a wide class of scalar field theories that modify general relativity (GR) on large scales. Such theories require a screening mechanism to suppress the new force in regions where the weak field limit of GR has been experimentally tested. We have used atom interferometry to measure the acceleration of an atom toward a macroscopic test mass inside a high vacuum chamber, where new forces can be unscreened. Our measurement shows no evidence of new forces, a result that places stringent bounds on chameleon and symmetron theories of modified gravity.

  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Received 11 February 2019
  • Revised 7 June 2019

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.123.061102

Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI.

Published by the American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Gravitation, Cosmology & AstrophysicsParticles & FieldsAtomic, Molecular & Optical

Authors & Affiliations

D. O. Sabulsky*, I. Dutta, and E. A. Hinds

  • Centre for Cold Matter, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, Prince Consort Road, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom

B. Elder, C. Burrage, and Edmund J. Copeland

  • School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, United Kingdom

  • *Present address: Laboratoire Photonique, Numérique et Nanosciences, Université Bordeaux-IOGS-CNRS:UMR 5298, rue F. Mitterrand, F-33400 Talence, France.
  • ed.hinds@imperial.ac.uk

Article Text

Click to Expand

References

Click to Expand
Issue

Vol. 123, Iss. 6 — 9 August 2019

Reuse & Permissions
Author publication services for translation and copyediting assistance advertisement

Authorization Required


×
×

Images

×

Sign up to receive regular email alerts from Physical Review Letters

Reuse & Permissions

It is not necessary to obtain permission to reuse this article or its components as it is available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI are maintained. Please note that some figures may have been included with permission from other third parties. It is your responsibility to obtain the proper permission from the rights holder directly for these figures.

×

Log In

Cancel
×

Search


Article Lookup

Paste a citation or DOI

Enter a citation
×