Bayesian Search of Massive Scalar Fields from LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA Binaries

Massive scalar fields are promising candidates to address many unresolved problems in fundamental physics. We report the first model-agnostic Bayesian search of massive scalar fields in LIGO/Virgo/KAGRA gravitational-wave data. We find no evidence for such fields and place the most stringent upper limits on their coupling for scalar masses $\lesssim 2\times {10}^{-12}\mathrm{e}\mathrm{V}$. We exemplify the strength of these bounds by applying them to massive scalar-Gauss-Bonnet gravity, finding the tightest constraints on the coupling constant to date, $\sqrt{{\alpha }_{\mathrm{G}\mathrm{B}}}\lesssim 1\mathrm{k}\mathrm{m}$ for scalar masses $\lesssim {10}^{-13}\mathrm{e}\mathrm{V}$ to 90% confidence.