Speaker
Sandrine Schloegel
(UNamur, Belgium)
Description
Current acceleration of the cosmic expansion leads to co%u010Fncidence as well as fine-tuning issues in the framework of general relativity. Dynamical scalar field
have been introduced in response of these problems, some of them invoking screening mechanisms for passing local tests of gravity. Recent lab experiments based on atom interferometry in a vacuum chamber have been proposed for testing modified gravity models. So far only analytical computations have been used to provide forecasts. We derive numerical solutions for chameleon models that take into account the effect of the vacuum chamber wall in relation with its size. With this realistic distribution of the chameleon field in the chamber, we refine the forecasts that were derived with analytical computations. We highlight specific effects due to the vacuum chamber that are potentially interesting for future experiments and extend our results to additional models like the symmetron.
