Chameleon gravity is a scalar-tensor theory that includes a non-minimal coupling between the scalar field and the matter fields and yet mimics general relativity in the Solar System. The scalar degree of freedom is hidden in high-density environments
because the effective mass of the chameleon scalar depends on the trace of the stress-energy tensor. In the early Universe, when the trace of the matter stress-energy tensor is nearly zero, the chameleon is very light, and Hubble friction prevents it from reaching the minimum of its effective potential. Whenever a particle species becomes non-relativistic, however, the trace of the stress-energy tensor is temporarily nonzero, and the chameleon begins to roll. We show that these kicks to the chameleon field have catastrophic consequences for chameleon gravity. The velocity imparted to the chameleon by the kick is sufficiently large that the chameleons mass changes rapidly as it slides past its potential minimum. This nonadiabatic evolution shatters the chameleon field by generating extremely high-energy perturbations through quantum particle production. If the chameleons coupling to matter is slightly stronger than gravitational, the excited modes have trans-Planckian momenta. The production of modes with momenta exceeding 1e7 GeV can only be avoided for small couplings and finely tuned initial conditions. These quantum effects also significantly alter the background evolution of the chameleon field, and we develop new analytic and numerical techniques to treat quantum particle production in the regime of strong dissipation. This analysis demonstrates that chameleon gravity cannot be treated as a classical field theory at the time of Big Bang Nucleosynthesis and casts doubt on chameleon gravitys viability as an alternative to general relativity.
The physics of the dark energy that drives the current cosmological acceleration remains mysterious, and the dark sector may involve new light dynamical fields. If these light scalars couple to matter, a screening mechanism must prevent them from med
iating an unacceptably strong fifth force locally. Here we consider a concrete example: the chameleon mechanism. We show that the same coupling between the chameleon field and matter employed by the screening mechanism also has catastrophic consequences for the chameleon during the Universes first minutes. The chameleon couples to the trace of the stress-energy tensor, which is temporarily non-zero in a radiation-dominated universe whenever a particle species becomes non-relativistic. These kicks impart a significant velocity to the chameleon field, causing its effective mass to vary non-adiabatically and resulting in the copious production of quantum fluctuations. Dissipative effects strongly modify the background evolution of the chameleon field, invalidating all previous classical treatments of chameleon cosmology. Moreover, the resulting fluctuations have extremely high characteristic energies, which casts serious doubt on the validity of the effective theory. Our results demonstrate that quantum particle production can profoundly affect scalar-tensor gravity, a possibility not previously considered. Working in this new context, we also develop the theory and numerics of particle production in the regime of strong dissipation.
