2007/09/27 by Stephen C. Davis, Davis, Stephen C. · 2 citations
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysics (astro-ph) #Cosmology and Gravitation Theories #FOS: Physical sciences #General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc) #Geophysics and Gravity Measurements #High Energy Physics - Theory (hep-th) #Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics #astro-ph #gr-qc #hep-th
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.0709.4453
12 pages. v3: Extra refs and discussion
openalex publication_date 2007/09/27 · arxiv created 2008/01/30 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Corrections to solar system gravity are derived for f(G) gravity theories, in which a function of the Gauss-Bonnet curvature term is added to the gravitational action. Their effects on Newton's law, as felt by the planets, and on the frequency shift of signals from the Cassini spacecraft, are both determined. Despite the fact that the Gauss-Bonnet term is quadratic in curvature, the resulting constraints are substantial. It is shown that they practically rule out f(G) as a natural explanation for the late-time acceleration of the universe. Possible exceptions are when f(G) reduces to something very close to a cosmological constant, or if the form of the function f is exceptionally fine-tuned.