New upper limits on deviation from the inverse-square law of gravity in the solar system: a Yukawa parameterization

Abstract

New physics beyond the standard model of particles might cause deviation from the inverse-square law of gravity. In many theoretical models of modified gravity, it is parameterized by the Yukawa correction to the Newtonian gravitational force in terms of two parameters α and λ. Here α is a dimensionless strength parameter and λ is a length scale. Using the supplementary advances in perihelia provided by INPOP10a and EPM2011 ephemerides, we obtain new upper limits on the deviation from the inverse-square law when the uncertainty of the Sun's quadrupole moment is taken into account. We find that INPOP10a yields the upper limits as α = 3.1 × 10−11 and λ = 0.15 au, and EPM2011 gives α = 5.2 × 10−11 and λ = 0.21 au. In both of them, α is at least 10 times less than the previous results.