Novel constraints on fifth forces and ultralight dark sector with asteroidal data

Abstract

We study for the first time the possibility of probing long-range fifth forces utilizing asteroid astrometric data, via the fifth force-induced orbital precession. We examine nine Near-Earth Object (NEO) asteroids whose orbital trajectories are accurately determined via optical and radar astrometry. Focusing on a Yukawa-type potential mediated by a new gauge field (dark photon) or a baryon-coupled scalar, we estimate the sensitivity reach for the fifth force coupling strength and mediator mass in the mass range m ≃ (10-21-10-15) eV, near the “fuzzy” dark matter region. Our estimated sensitivity is comparable to leading limits from equivalence principle tests, potentially exceeding these in a specific mass range. The fifth force-induced precession increases with the orbital semi-major axis in the small m limit, motivating the study of objects further away from the Sun. We also demonstrate that precession tests are particularly strong in probing long-range forces which approximately conserve the equivalence principle. We discuss future prospects for extending our study to more than a million asteroids, including NEOs, main-belt asteroids, Hildas, and Jupiter Trojans, as well as trans-Neptunian objects and exoplanets.

Constraints on fifth forces and ultralight dark matter from OSIRIS-REx target asteroid Bennu

“…It is useful to consider the reciprocal coordinate u = 1/r, in terms of which the equation of motion for the celestial object, including General Relativity (GR) corrections and temporarily restoring SI units, is given by [138,157]…”

“…Among others, the Lunar Laser Ranging (LLR) is monitoring the distance between the Moon and Earth with millimetric precision, placing strong bounds on the time variability of Newton's constant and on the strong equivalence principle [154][155][156]. Proof-of-principle studies have been discussed as possible ways to place model-dependent limits on a novel fifth force using asteroid and planetary precessions [138,157]. The data has also been used to obtain constraints on the local DM and cosmic neutrino densities [148].…”

Pulsar kicks in ultralight dark matter background induced by neutrino oscillation

“…Gravitational Waves (GWs) observed by LIGO/Virgo put bounds on ultralight DM as well [13,14]. Several tests of gravity in the solar system scale obtain interesting constraints on UVDM and USDM [15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24]. They can also be probed from the neutrino oscillation experiments [25][26][27].…”

OSIRIS-REx constraints on local dark matter and cosmic neutrino profiles

“…Further determinations of asteroids' orbits are of interest for safety. In addition to planetary defense purposes, data from asteroids can be applied to study a wide range of fundamental physics topics, including but not limited to general relativity (GR) [27,28], modified gravity [29], dark energy theory [30], fifth forces [31,32], and the Yarkovsky effect [33]. Planetary and asteroidal ephemerides are crucial not only for planetary defense and fundamental physics, but also for experimental applications, as they are also a source of uncertainty for the Pulsar Timing Array [34].…”