Abstract New physics beyond the standard model of particles might cause a deviation from the inverse-square law of gravity. In some theories, it is parameterized by a power-law correction to the Newtonian gravitational force, which might originate from the simultaneous exchange of particles or modified and extended theories of gravity. Using the supplementary advances of the perihelia provided by INPOP10a (IMCCE, France) and EPM2011 (IAA RAS, Russia) ephemerides, we obtain preliminary limits on this correction. In our estimation, we take the Lense-Thirring effect due to the Sun’s angular momentum into account. The parameters of the power-law correction and the uncertainty of the Sun’s quadrupole moment are simultaneously estimated with the method of minimizing χ2. From INPOP10a, we find N = 0.605 for the exponent of the power-law correction. However, from EPM2011, we find that, although it yields N = 3.001, the estimated uncertainty in the Sun’s quadrupole moment is much larger than the value given by current observations. This might be caused by the intrinsic nonlinearity in the power-law correction, which makes the estimation very sensitive to the supplementary advances of the perihelia.

Keywords gravitation — ephemerides — celestial mechanics

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