Classical tests in brane gravity

Abstract

The vacuum solutions in brane gravity differ from those in 4D by a number of additional terms and reduce to the familiar Schwarzschild metric at small distances. We study the possible roles that such terms may play in the precession of planetary orbits, bending of light, radar retardation and the anomaly in mean motion of test bodies. Using the available data from solar system experiments, we determine the range of the free parameters associated with the linear term in the metric. The best results come from the anomalies in the mean motion of planets. Such studies should shed some light on the origin of dark energy via the solar system tests.