Constraining Post-Newtonian f(R) Gravity in the Solar System

TL;DR

This paper investigates how certain f(R) gravity models affect Solar System dynamics, especially planetary precession, and compares theoretical predictions with observational data to constrain these models.

Contribution

It provides a perturbative analysis of f(R) gravity in the Solar System and compares predictions with observational data to constrain modified gravity theories.

Findings

Constraints on f(R) gravity models from planetary precession data

Agreement or deviations between theory and observations for Solar System dynamics

Limits on non-linearity effects in gravitational Lagrangian

Abstract

We consider some models of f(R) gravity that can be used to describe, in a suitable weak-field limit, the gravitational field of the Sun. Using a perturbative approach, we focus on the impact that the modifications of the gravitational field, due to the non-linearity of the gravity Lagrangian, have on the Solar System dynamics. We compare the theoretical predictions for the precession of the longitude of the pericentre $\varpi$ of a test particle with the corrections to the standard Newtonian-Einsteinian precessions of the longitudes of perihelia of some planets of the Solar System recently estimated by E.V. Pitjeva by fitting large data sets with various versions of the EPM ephemerides.