CAN SOLAR SYSTEM OBSERVATIONS TELL US SOMETHING ABOUT THE COSMOLOGICAL CONSTANT?

Abstract

In this note, we show that the latest determinations of the residual perihelion advances [Formula: see text] of the inner planets of the Solar System, obtained by accounting for almost all known Newtonian and post-Newtonian orbital effects, yield only very broad constraints on the cosmological constant Λ. Indeed, from, e.g., [Formula: see text] arcseconds per century for Mercury, one gets -2 × 10-34 km -2 < Λ < 4 × 10-35 km -2. The currently accepted value for Λ, obtained from many independent cosmological and large-scale measurements, amounts to almost 10-46 km -2.