Perihelion precession of planetary orbits solved from quantum field theory

TL;DR

This paper derives the perihelion precession of planetary orbits directly from quantum field theory extended to include gravity, showing that key relativistic effects can emerge without general relativity's geometric framework.

Contribution

It introduces a quantum field theory approach to derive planetary precession, bridging quantum mechanics and gravity without relying on spacetime curvature.

Findings

Precession matches general relativity predictions

Quantum field theory models planetary orbits

Demonstrates emergence of relativistic effects from quantum theory

Abstract

We derive the perihelion precession of planetary orbits using quantum field theory extending the Standard Model to include gravity. Modeling the gravitational bound state of an electron via the Dirac equation of unified gravity [Rep. Prog. Phys. 88, 057802 (2025)], and taking the classical planetary state limit, we obtain orbital dynamics exhibiting a precession in agreement with general relativity. This demonstrates that key general relativistic effects in planetary motion can emerge directly from quantum field theory without invoking the geometric framework of general relativity.