Chameleons and Awaiting Surprises for Tests of Gravity in Space

Justin Khoury (Columbia Univ.)
jkhoury@physics.columbia.edu
Monday 8  September, 2:30 pm, Curia II

Abstract:

We present a novel scenario where a scalar field acquires a mass
which depends on the local matter density: the field is massive on Earth,
where the density is high, but is essentially free in the solar system,
where the density is low. All existing tests of gravity are satisfied. We
predict that near-future satellite experiments could measure an effective
Newton's constant in space different than that on Earth, as well as
violations of the Equivalence Principle stronger than currently allowed by
laboratory experiments. Such outcomes would constitute a smoking gun for
our scenario.