Solar system constraints on planetary Coriolis-type effects induced by rotation of distant masses

We phenomenologically put local constraints on the rotation of distant masses by using the planets of the solar system. First, we analytically compute the orbital secular precessions induced on the motion of a test particle about a massive primary by a Coriolis-like force, treated as a small perturbation of first order in the rotation, in the case of a constant angular velocity vector \Psi directed along a generic direction in space. The semimajor axis a and the eccentricity e of the test particle do not secularly precess, contrary to the inclination I, the longitude of the ascending node \Omega, the longitude of the pericenter \varpi and the mean anomaly M. Then, we compare our prediction for <\dot\varpi> with the corrections \Delta\dot\varpi to the usual perihelion precessions of the inner planets recently estimated by fitting long data sets with different versions of the EPM ephemerides. We obtain |\Psi_z| <= 0.0006-0.013 arcsec cty^-1, |\Psi_x| <= 0.1-2.7 arcsec cty-1, |\Psi_y| <= 0.3-2.3 arcsec cty^-1. Interpreted in terms of models of space-time involving cosmic rotation, our results are able to yield constraints on cosmological parameters like the cosmological constant \Lambda and the Hubble parameter H_0 not too far from their values determined with cosmological observations and, in some cases, several orders of magnitude better than the constraints usually obtained so far from space-time models not involving rotation. In the case of the rotation of the solar system throughout the Galaxy, occurring clockwise about the North Galactic Pole, our results for \Psi_z are in disagreement with the expected value of it at more than 3-\sigma level.

💡 Research Summary

The paper investigates whether a global rotation of distant masses—conceived as a cosmic angular velocity vector Ψ—leaves detectable imprints on the orbital dynamics of the Solar System’s planets. Starting from the hypothesis that such a rotation generates a Coriolis‑like acceleration A = −2 Ψ × v on a test particle orbiting a massive primary, the authors treat this term as a first‑order perturbation. Using the Gauss planetary equations, they derive the secular (long‑term averaged) rates of change for the six Keplerian elements. The semimajor axis a and eccentricity e experience no secular drift, while the inclination I, longitude of the ascending node Ω, longitude of perihelion ϖ (Ω + ω), and mean anomaly M acquire linear precessions proportional to the components of Ψ. In particular, the perihelion precession rate is

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