Solar system constraints on a Rindler-type extra-acceleration from modified gravity at large distances

Abstract

We analytically work out the orbital effects caused by a Rindlertype extra-acceleration ARin which naturally arises in some recent models of modified gravity at large distances. In particular, we focus on the perturbations induced by it on the two-body range ρ and range-rate ρ\cdot which are commonly used in satellite and planetary investigations as primary observable quantities. The constraints obtained for ARin by comparing our calculations with the currently available range and range-rate residuals for some of the major bodies of the solar system, obtained without explicitly modeling ARin, are 1 - 2 \times 10-13 m s-2 (Mercury and Venus), 1 \times 10-14 m s-2 (Saturn), 1 \times 10-15 m s-2 (Mars), while for a terrestrial Rindler acceleration we have 5 \times 10-16 m s-2 (Moon). Another approach which could be followed consists of taking into account ARin in re-processing all the available data sets with accordingly modified dynamical models, and estimating a dedicated solve-for parameter explicitly accounting for it. Anyway, such a method is time-consuming. A preliminary analysis likely performed in such a way by a different author yields A <= 8\times10-14 m s-2 at Mars' distance and A < = 1\times10-14 m s-2 at Saturn's distance. The method adopted here can be easily and straightforwardly extended to other long-range modified models of gravity as well.

LaTex2e, 22 pages, 6 figures, 2 tables, 32 references. To appear in Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics (JCAP)

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• Study of the anomalous acceleration of Pioneer 10 and 11
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• Solar system constraints on Rindler acceleration
• Post-Newtonian Lagrangian planetary equations
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Cited by in corpus (10)

• Modified Gravity Theories on a Nutshell: Inflation, Bounce and Late-time Evolution
• On the (im)possibility of testing new physics in exoplanets using transit timing variations: deviation from inverse-square law of gravity
• Evading Derrick's theorem in curved space: Static metastable spherical domain wall
• Modified Rindler acceleration as a nonlinear electromagnetic effect
• Existence and Stability of Static Spherical Fluid Shells in a Schwarzschild-Rindler-anti-de Sitter Metric
• Conformal Cosmology and the Pioneer Anomaly
• Reconstructing a Model for Gravity at Large Distances from Dark Matter Density Profiles
• Spiral galaxies rotation curves in the Horava - Lifshitz gravity theory
• Re-Examination of Globally Flat Space-Time
• A scan of f(R) models admitting Rindler type acceleration