New avenues in the hunt for dark energy

This is an interdisciplinary programme bridging cosmology, astrophysics and particle physics towards explaining dark energy in the Universe. The resolution of dark energy needs an extension of General Relativity. Theories aiming to explain it typically introduce new fields manifesting as a fifth force. The quest for their theoretical underpinning and observational imprints is currently paramount in cosmology. In the project’s first part, I will introduce helioseismology as a new precision probe for fifth forces in Nature. Within generic theories for dark energy, I will formulate the theory for solar pulsations, and with sophisticated simulations I will deliver the tightest constraints on the fifth force to date. In the second part, I will perform a complementary investigation of the fundamental character of general dark energy theories. With state-of-the-art field-theoretical methods I will deliver the first complete description of their quantum origin. With this, I will make robust predictions for gravitational waves for current and future surveys.