Can Solar System observations tell us something about the cosmological constant?

TL;DR

This paper investigates whether precise Mercury perihelion measurements can constrain the cosmological constant, finding that current solar system data provide only very broad limits compared to cosmological estimates.

Contribution

The study demonstrates that Mercury's perihelion data yield broad constraints on the cosmological constant, highlighting limitations of solar system tests for cosmological parameters.

Findings

Residual perihelion advance constrains Lambda to broad limits.

Current measurements are insufficient to match cosmological Lambda values.

Solar system observations provide only weak bounds on the cosmological constant.

Abstract

In this note we show that the latest determinations of the residual Mercury's perihelion advance, obtained by accounting for almost all known Newtonian and post-Newtonian orbital effects, yields only very broad constraints on the cosmological constant. Indeed, from \delta\dot\omega=-0.0036 + - 0.0050 arcseconds per century one gets -2 10^-34 km^-2 < Lambda < 4 10^-35 km^-2. The currently accepted value for Lambda, obtained from many independent cosmological and large-scale measurements, amounts to almost 10^-46 km^-2.