Solar System tests DO rule out 1/R gravity
Abstract
Shortly after the addition of a 1/R term to the Einstein-Hilbert action was proposed as a solution to the cosmic-acceleration puzzle, Chiba showed that such a theory violates Solar System tests of gravity. A flurry of recent papers have called Chiba's result into question. They argue that the spherically-symmetric vacuum spacetime in this theory is the Schwarzschild-de Sitter solution, making this theory consistent with Solar System tests. We point out that although the Schwarzschild-de Sitter solution exists in this theory, it is not the unique spherically-symmetric vacuum solution, and it is not the solution that describes the spacetime in the Solar System. The solution that correctly matches onto the stellar-interior solution differs from Schwarzschild-de Sitter in a way consistent with Chiba's claims. Thus, 1/R gravity is ruled out by Solar System tests.
Cite
@article{arxiv.astro-ph/0610483,
title = {Solar System tests DO rule out 1/R gravity},
author = {Adrienne L. Erickcek and Tristan L. Smith and Marc Kamionkowski},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:astro-ph/0610483},
year = {2008}
}
Comments
4 pages, no figures. Submitted to PRD Rapid Communications