Testing Lorentz symmetry with planetary orbital dynamics

TL;DR

This paper uses planetary orbital data to test Lorentz symmetry violations within the Standard-Model Extension framework, finding no deviations from General Relativity and improving existing constraints.

Contribution

It provides new constraints on SME coefficients from planetary data, including gravity-matter couplings, enhancing previous limits and disentangling different sectors.

Findings

No deviation from General Relativity detected.

Improved constraints on SME coefficients.

Disentangled gravity sector from gravity-matter couplings.

Abstract

Planetary ephemerides are a very powerful tool to constrain deviations from the theory of General Relativity using orbital dynamics. The effective field theory framework called the Standard-Model Extension (SME) has been developed in order to systematically parametrize hypothetical violations of Lorentz symmetry (in the Standard Model and in the gravitational sector). In this communication, we use the latest determinations of the supplementary advances of the perihelia and of the nodes obtained by planetary ephemerides analysis to constrain SME coefficients from the pure gravity sector and also from gravity-matter couplings. Our results do not show any deviation from GR and they improve current constraints. Moreover, combinations with existing constraints from Lunar Laser Ranging and from atom interferometry gravimetry allow us to disentangle contributions from the pure gravity sector from the gravity-matter couplings.