Casanellas, Jordi, Pani, Paolo, Lopes, Ilidio and Cardoso, Vitor (2012), "TESTING ALTERNATIVE THEORIES OF GRAVITY USING THE SUN", ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL, 745, 1.
Abstract: We propose a new approach to test possible corrections to Newtonian
gravity using solar physics. The high accuracy of current solar models
and new precise observations allow us to constrain corrections to
standard gravity at unprecedented levels. Our case study is
Eddington-inspired gravity, an attractive modified theory of gravity
which results in non-singular cosmology and collapse. The theory is
equivalent to standard gravity in vacuum, but it sensibly differs from
it within matter. For instance, it affects the evolution and the
equilibrium structure of the Sun, giving different core temperature
profiles, and deviations in the observed acoustic modes and in solar
neutrino fluxes. Comparing the predictions from a modified solar model
with observations, we constrain the coupling parameter of the theory,
vertical bar K-g vertical bar less than or similar to 3 x 10(5) m(5)
s(-2) kg(-1). Our results show that the Sun can be used to efficiently
constrain alternative theories of gravity.
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