We analyse the phenomenology of a self-interacting scalar field in the context of the chameleon scenario originally proposed by Khoury and Weltman. In the absence of self-interactions, this type of scalar field can mediate long range interactions and simultaneously evade constraints from violation of the weak equivalence principle. By applying to such a scalar field the effective field theory method proposed for Einstein gravity by Goldberger and Rothstein, we give a thorough perturbative evaluation of the importance of non-derivative self-interactions in determining the strength of the chameleon mediated force in the case of orbital motion. The self-interactions are potentially dangerous as they can change the long range behaviour of the field. Nevertheless, we show that they do not lead to any dramatic phenomenological consequence with respect to the linear case and solar system constraints are fulfilled.
We propose in this paper an interacting holographic dark energy (IHDE) model in chameleon--tachyon cosmology by interaction between the components of the dark sectors. In the formalism, the interaction term emerges from the scalar field coupling matter lagrangian in the model rather than being inserted into the formalism as an external source for the interaction. The correspondence between the tachyon field and the holographic dark energy (HDE) densities allows to reconstruct the tachyon scalar field and its potential in a flat FRW universe. The model can show the accelerated expansion of the …
We study the holographic dark energy (HDE) model in generalized Brans-Dicke scenario with a non-minimal coupling between the scalar field and matter lagrangian namely Chameleon Brans Dicke (CBD) mechanism. In this study we consider the interacting and non-interacting cases for two different cutoffs. The physical quantities of the model such as, equation of state (EoS) parameter, deceleration parameter and the evolution equation of dimensionless parameter of dark energy are obtained. We shall show that this model can describe the dynamical evolution of fraction parameter of dark energy in all e…
Motivated by the recent work of one of us [1], we generalize this work to the case where the pressureless dark matter and the holographic dark energy do not conserve separately but interact with each other. We investigate the cosmological applications of interacting holographic dark energy in Brans-Dicke theory with chameleon scalar field which is non-minimally coupled to the matter field. We find out that in this model the phantom crossing can be constructed if the model parameters are chosen suitably. We also perform the study for the new agegraphic dark energy model and calculate some relev…
We explore a chameleon type of interacting dark matter-dark energy scenario in which a scalar field adiabatically traces the minimum of an effective potential sourced by the dark matter density. We discuss extensively the effect of this coupling on cosmological observables, especially the parameter degeneracies expected to arise between the model parameters and other cosmological parameters, and then test the model against observations of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropies and other cosmological probes. We find that the chameleon parameters $α$ and $β$, which determine respecti…
The authors of Ref. \cite{1-2}, investigated cosmic evolution in an external interacting model of scalar tensor gravity namely Brans Dicke chameleon scenario. The procedure of this work contains novelties but, it shall be observed from this comment, their report faces three fundamental drawbacks. One of them concerns the energy conservation equation, and the other two flaws are about mathematical mistakes. In the scalar tensor gravity models, a well-known method, in order to obtain conservation equation one must combine Friedmann equations with modified Klein-Gordon equation. But in Ref. \cite…
Using a novel and self-consistent approach that avoids the scalar-tensor identification in the Einstein frame, we reanalyze the viability of f(R) gravity within the context of solar-system tests. In order to do so, we depart from a simple but fully relativistic system of differential equations that describe a compact object in a static and spherically symmetric spacetime, and then we make suitable linearizations that apply to nonrelativistic objects such as the Sun. We then show clearly under which conditions the emerging chameleonlike mechanism can lead to a post-Newtonian parameter γ compati…
Following work by Khoury and Weltman, we introduce a scalar field phi, the chameleon, which is conformally coupled to matter. That is, matter experiences a metric which is a conformal transform (parametrized by phi) of the Einstein metric. The effective potential of the field phi is a sum of its self-interaction term and an exponential term due to the conformal coupling. Under certain conditions on the self-interaction and the coupling, this effective potential has a minimum which depends on the local matter density, as does its second derivative at the minimum. As a result, the scalar field a…
We calculate the chameleon field profile, confined between two parallel plates, filled with air at pressure $P = 10^{-4}\,{\rm mbar}$ and room temperature and separated by the distance $L$, in the chameleon field theory with Ratra--Peebles self--interaction potential with index $n = 1$. We give the exact analytical solution in terms of Jacobian elliptic functions, depending on the mass density of the ambient matter. The obtained analytical solution can be used in qBounce experiments, measuring transition frequencies between quantum gravitational states of ultracold neutrons and also for the ca…
We show that as a result of non-linear self-interactions, scalar field theories that couple to matter much more strongly than gravity are not only viable but could well be detected by a number of future experiments, provided these are properly designed to do so.
The chameleon model is a modified gravity theory that introduces an additional scalar field that couples to matter through a conformal coupling. This `chameleon field' possesses a screening mechanism through a nonlinear self-interaction term which allows the field to affect cosmological observables in diffuse environments whilst still being consistent with current local experimental constraints. Due to the self-interaction term the equations of motion of the field are nonlinear and therefore difficult to solve analytically. The analytic solutions that do exist in the literature are either appr…
In chameleon field theories a scalar field can couple to matter with gravitational strength and still evade local gravity constraints due to a combination of self-interactions and the couplings to matter. Originally, these theories were proposed with a constant coupling to matter, however, the chameleon mechanism also extends to the case where the coupling becomes field-dependent. We study the cosmology of chameleon models with power-law couplings and power-law potentials. It is found that these generalized chameleons, when viable, have a background expansion very close to LCDM, but can in som…
The chameleon, or generalizations thereof, is a light scalar that couple to matter with gravitational strength, but whose manifestation depends on the ambient matter density. A key feature is that the screening mechanism suppressing its effects in high-density environments is determined by the local scalar field value. Under very general conditions, we prove two theorems limiting its cosmological impact: i) the Compton wavelength of such a scalar can be at most Mpc at present cosmic density, which restricts its impact to non-linear scales; ii) the conformal factor relating Einstein- and Jordan…
As a result of non-linear self-interactions, in chameleon theories where the field couples to matter much more strongly than gravity does, the fifth force between two bodies with thin-shell is independent of their coupling to the field. As a consequence the bounds on the coupling coming from terrestrial tests of gravity, measurements of the Casimir force and those constraints imposed by the physics of compact objects, big-bang nucleosynthesis and measurements of the cosmic microwave background anisotropies can be exponentially relaxed.
Certain scalar-tensor theories exhibit the so-called chameleon mechanism, whereby observational signatures of scalar fields are hidden by a combination of self-interactions and interactions with ambient matter. Not all scalar-tensor theories exhibit such a chameleon mechanism, which has been originally found in models with inverse power run-away potentials and field independent couplings to matter. In this paper we investigate field-theories with field-dependent couplings and a power-law potential for the scalar field. We show that the theory indeed is a chameleon field theory. We find the thi…
The existing constraints from particle colliders reveal a suspicious but nonlethal metastability for our current electroweak vacuum of Higgs potential in the standard model of particle physics, which is, however, disfavored in the early Universe if the inflationary Hubble scale is larger than the instability scale when Higgs quartic self-coupling runs into negative value. Alternative to previous trials of acquiring a positive effective mass-squared from Higgs quadratic couplings to Ricci scalar or inflaton field, we propose a third approach to stabilize the Higgs potential in the early Univers…
Light scalar fields are expected to arise in theories of high energy physics (such as string theory), and find phenomenological motivations in dark energy, dark matter, or neutrino physics. However, the coupling of light scalar fields to ordinary (or dark) matter is strongly constrained from laboratory, solar system, and astrophysical tests of fifth force. One way to evade these constraints in dense environments is through the chameleon mechanism, where the field's mass steeply increases with ambient density. Consequently, the chameleonic force is only sourced by a thin shell near the surface …
Theories of modified gravity where light scalars with non-trivial self-interactions and non-minimal couplings to matter-chameleon and symmetron theories-dynamically suppress deviations from general relativity in the solar system. On other scales, the environmental nature of the screening means that such scalars may be relevant. The highly-nonlinear nature of screening mechanisms means that they evade classical fifth-force searches, and there has been an intense effort towards designing new and novel tests to probe them, both in the laboratory and using astrophysical objects, and by reinterpret…
We perform high resolution N-body simulations for f(R) gravity based on a self-adaptive particle- mesh code MLAPM. The Chameleon mechanism that recovers General Relativity on small scales is fully taken into account by self-consistently solving the non-linear equation for the scalar field. We independently confirm the previous simulation results, including the matter power spectrum, halo mass function and density profiles, obtained by Oyaizu et al. (Phys.Rev.D 78, 123524, 2008) and Schmidt et al. (Phys.Rev.D 79, 083518, 2009), and extend the resolution up to k~20 h/Mpc for the measurement of t…
We propose a novel mechanism which explains cored dark matter density profile in recently observed dark matter rich dwarf spheroidal galaxies. In our scenario, dark matter particle mass decreases gradually as function of distance towards the center of a dwarf galaxy due to its interaction with a chameleon scalar. At closer distance towards galactic center the strength of attractive scalar fifth force becomes much stronger than gravity and is balanced by the Fermi pressure of dark matter cloud, thus an equilibrium static configuration of dark matter halo is obtained. Like the case of soliton st…
We study analytically the initial value problem for a self-interacting (massive) scalar-field on a Reissner-Nordström spacetime. Following the no-hair theorem we examine the dynamical physical mechanism by which the self-interacting (SI) hair decays. We show that the intermediate asymptotic behaviour of SI perturbations is dominated by an oscillatory inverse power-law decaying tail. We show that at late-times the decay of a SI hair is slower than any power-law. We confirm our analytical results by numerical simulations.
Current constraints on gravity are relatively weak on galactic and intergalactic scales. Screened modified gravity models can exhibit complex behaviour there without violating stringent tests of gravity within our Solar System. They might hence provide viable extensions of the theory of gravity. Here, we use galaxy kinematics to constrain screened modified gravity models. We focus on chameleon $f(R)$ gravity and predict its impact on galaxy rotation curves and radial acceleration relations. This is achieved by post-processing state-of-the-art galaxy formation simulations from the \textsc{aurig…
We point out that the initial-value (Cauchy) problem for self-interacting vector fields presents the same well-posedness issues as for first-order derivative self-interacting scalar fields (often referred to as $k$-essence). For the latter, suitable strategies have been employed in the last few years to successfully evolve the Cauchy problem at the level of the infrared theory, without the need for an explicit ultraviolet completion. We argue that the very same techniques can also be applied to self-interacting vector fields, avoiding a number of issues and "pathologies" recently found in the …
It is showed that complex scalar fields with a self-interaction potential may propagate along null geodesics on flat Friedmann--Lemaître--Robertson--Walker universes with different time-dependent scale factors. This occurs provided they self interact adequately, for different forms of potentials, and even for the massive case.
A quintessence scalar field in self-interacting Brans-Dicke theory is shown to give rise to a non-decelerated expansion of the present universe for open, flat and closed models. Along with providing a non-decelerating solution, it can potentially solve the flatness problem too.
Self-consistent solutions to interacting spinor and scalar field equations in General Relativity are studied for the case of Bianchi type-I space-time filled with perfect fluid. The initial and the asymptotic behavior of the field functions and the metric one has been thoroughly studied.
We solve isotropic, homogeneous cosmological models containing a self-interacting scalar field. Calculations are performed in four and two-dimensional spacetimes. We find several exact solutions that have an inflationary regime or has a final Friedmann stage. Also their asymptotically stability is studied.
This paper is devoted to consideration of the theory of collisionless statistical systems with interparticle scalar interaction. The mathematical model of such systems is constructed and the exact solution of Vlasov equation for isotropic homogenous model of the Universe is found. Asymptotic solutions of self-consistent Vlasov - Einstein model for conformally invariant scalar interactions are found.
We examine the compatibility of the Einstein minimally coupled self-interacting scalar field theory with the local tests of gravity. We find that apart from the trivial case of the Schwarzschild-de Sitter solution with constant scalar field the theory does not admit any other static solution, which is consistent with the solar system tests of gravity.
In this work we have studied the possibility of obtaining cosmic acceleration in Brans-Dicke theory with varying or constant $ω$ (Brans- Dicke parameter) and with or without self-interacting potential, the background fluid being barotropic fluid or Generalized Chaplygin Gas. Here we take the power law form of the scale factor and the scalar field. We show that accelerated expansion can also be achieved for high values of $ω$ for closed Universe.
This paper aims to derive a definition of complexity for a dynamic spherical system in the background of self-interacting Brans-Dicke gravity. We measure complexity of the structure in terms of inhomogeneous energy density, anisotropic pressure and massive scalar field. For this purpose, we formulate structure scalars by orthogonally splitting the Riemann tensor. We show that self-gravitating models collapsing homologously follow the simplest mode of evolution. Furthermore, we demonstrate the effect of scalar field on the complexity and evolution of non-dissipative as well as dissipative syste…
We apply the dynamical systems tools to study the linear dynamics of a self-interacting scalar field trapped in the braneworld, for a wide variety of self-interaction potentials. We focus on Randall-Sundrum (RS) and on Dvali-Gabadadze-Porrati (DGP) braneworld models exclusively. These models are complementary to each other: while the RS brane produces ultra-violet (UV) corrections to general relativity, the DGP braneworld modifies Einstein's theory at large scales, i. e., produces infra-red (IR) modifications of general relativity. This study of the asymptotic properties of both braneworld mod…
We investigate a relativistic self-interacting gas in the field of an external {\it pp} gravitational wave. Based on symmetry considerations we ask for those forces which are able to compensate the imprint of the gravitational wave on the macroscopic 4-acceleration of the gaseous fluid. We establish an exactly solvable toy model according to which the stationary states which characterize such a situation have negative entropy production and are accompanied by instabilities of the microscopic particle motion. These features are similar to those which one encounters in phenomena of self-organiza…
The gravitational collapse of a wide class of self-interacting homogeneous scalar fields models is analyzed. The class is characterized by certain general conditions on the scalar field potential, which, in particular, include both asymptotically polynomial and exponential behaviors. Within this class, we show that the generic evolution is always divergent in a finite time, and then make use of this result to construct radiating star models of the Vaidya type. It turns out that blackholes are generically formed in such models.
The dynamical evolution of self-gravitating scalar field configurations in numerical relativity is studied. The previous analysis on ground state boson stars of non-interacting fields is extended to excited states and to fields with self couplings. Self couplings can significantly change the physical dimensions of boson stars, making them much more astrophysically interesting (e.g., having mass of order 0.1 solar mass). The stable ($S$) and unstable ($U$) branches of equilibrium configurations of boson stars of self-interacting fields are studied; their behavior under perturbations and their q…
We derive a new parametric class of exact cosmological solutions to Brans-Dicke theory of gravity with a self-interacting scalar field and a barotropic perfect fluid of ordinary matter, by assuming a linear relationship between the Hubble expansion parameter and the time derivative of the scalar field. As a consequence only a class of exponential potentials and their combinations can be treated. The relevance of the solutions found for the description of the cosmic evolution are discussed in detail. We focus our discussion mainly on the possibility to have superquintessence behavior.
Self-interacting scalar field configurations which are non-minimally coupled ($ζ\neq0$) to the gravity of a strictly stationary black hole with non-rotating horizon are studied. It is concluded that for analytical configurations the corresponding domain of outer communications is static.
Long-lived configurations of massive scalar fields around black holes may form if the coupling between the mass of the scalar field and the mass of the black hole is very small. In this work we analyze the effect of self-interaction in the distribution of the long-lived cloud surrounding a static black hole. We consider both attractive and repulsive self-interactions. By solving numerically the Klein Gordon equation on a fixed background in the frequency domain, we find that the spatial distribution of quasi stationary states may be larger as compared to the non interacting case. We performed …
Self-consistent solutions to the system of spinor and scalar field equations in General Relativity are studied for the case of Bianchi type-I space-time. It should be emphasized the absence of initial singularity for some types of solutions and also the isotropic mode of space-time in some special case.
We investigate the late-time tails of self-interacting (massive) scalar fields in the spacetime of dilaton black hole. Following the no hair theorem we examine the mechanism by which self-interacting scalar hair decay. We revealed that the intermediate asymptotic behavior of the considered field perturbations is dominated by an oscillatory inverse power-law decaying tail. The numerical simulations showed that at the very late-time massive self-interacting scalar hair decayed slower than any power law.
In the spacetime of n-dimensional static charged black hole we examine the mechanism by which the self-interacting scalar hair decay. It is turned out that the intermediate asymptotic behaviour of the self-interacting scalar field is determined by an oscilatory inverse power law. We confirm our results by numerical calculations.
Self-interacting dark matter is known as one of the most appropriate candidates for dark matter. Due to its excellent success in removing many astrophysical problems, particularly in small scale structure, studying this model has taken on added significance. In this paper, we focus on the results of two previously performed simulations of cluster sized halos with self-interacting dark matter and introduce a new function for the density profile of galaxy clusters, which can perfectly describe the result of these simulations. This density profile helps to find a velocity dispersion profile and a…
We make analytic derivation for maximum masses of stable boson stars formed by scalar fields with any higher order self-interactions and show that those are equivalent to numerical results. It is shown that the contribution of the higher order self-interaction terms to the maximum mass decreases as $(m/M_p)^2$ power.
We study the model of Einstein-Maxwell theory minimally coupling to a massive charged self-interacting scalar field, parameterized by the quartic and hexic coupling, labelled by $λ$ and $β$, respectively. In the absence of scalar field, there is a class of counterexamples to cosmic censorship. Moveover, we investigate the properties of full nonlinear solution with nonzero scalar field, and argue that, by assuming massive charged self-interacting scalar field with sufficiently large charge above one certain bound, these counterexamples can be removed. In particular, this bound on charge for sel…
Recently, Deser, Jackiw and Pi have shown that three-dimensional conformal gravity with a source given by a conformally coupled scalar field admits pp wave solutions. In this letter, we consider this model with a self-interacting potential preserving the conformal structure. A pp wave geometry is also supported by this system and, we show that this model is equivalent to topologically massive gravity with a cosmological constant whose value is given in terms of the potential strength.
Einstein gravity minimally coupled to a self-interacting scalar field is investigated in the static and isotropic situation. We explicitly construct in partially closed form a new black-hole solution with exponentially decaying scalar hair. The symmetric interaction potential has both signs and a triple-well shape with a smooth but non-analytic minimum at vanishing field. We present numerical data as well as double series expansions around spatial infinity.
We discuss two different realizations of a ``deflationary'' scenario of the early universe which imply a smooth transition from an initial de Sitter stage to a subsequent radiation-dominated FLRW period. Thermodynamically, this transition is a non-equilibrium process which may also be interpreted as the decay of an initial cosmic vacuum into relativistic matter.
We show that self-interacting vector field theories exhibit unphysical behaviour even when they are not coupled to any external field. This means any theory featuring such vectors is in danger of being unphysical, an alarming prospect for many proposals in cosmology, gravity, high energy physics and beyond. The problem arises when vector fields with healthy configurations naturally reach a point where time evolution is mathematically ill-defined. We develop tools to easily identify this issue, and provide a simple and unifying framework to investigate it.
Self-interacting dark matter has been suggested in order to overcome the difficulties of the Cold Dark Matter model on galactic scales. We argue that a scalar gauge singlet coupled to the Higgs boson, which could lead to an invisibly decaying Higgs, is an interesting candidate for this self-interacting dark matter particle. We also present estimates on the abundance of these particles today as well as consequences to non-Newtonian forces.
We consider self-interacting, perturbative quantum field theory in a curved spacetime background with a Killing vector field. We show that the action of this spacetime symmetry on interacting field operators can be implemented by a Noether charge which arises as a surface integral over the time-component of the interacting Noether current-density associated with the Killing field. The proof of this involves the demonstration of a corresponding set of Ward identities. Our work is based on the perturbative construction by Brunetti and Fredenhagen (Commun.Math.Phys. 208 (2000) 623-661) of self-in…
A unified model is developed within the context of the braneworld paradigm, where a single scalar field can act as both the inflaton field in the very early universe and also as strong, self-interacting dark matter in the post-inflationary universe. Reheating proceeds due to the overproduction and subsequent evaporation of primordial black holes. Observational constraints, most notably from gravitational waves, are satisfied if the probability of PBH formation is sufficiently high.
We present the expressions of the three- and four-point correlation functions of a self interacting light scalar field in a de Sitter spacetime at tree order respectively for a cubic and a quartic potential. Exact expressions are derived and their limiting behaviour on super-horizon scales are presented. Their essential features are shown to be similar to those obtained in a classical approach.
