Bound on the dark matter density in the Solar System from planetary motions

By Jean-Marie Frère, Fu-Sin Ling, G. Vertongen. 2007

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High precision planet orbital data extracted from direct observation, spacecraft explorations, and laser ranging techniques enable to constrain the maximal dark matter density of a spherical halo centered around the Sun. If we assume a halo profile with a power-law dependence in the heliocentric distance, the maximal density at Earth's location is of the order 10{sup 5} GeV/cm{sup 3}. Moreover, this value shows only a mild dependence on the slope of the halo profile, taken between 0 and -2. This bound competes with that obtained from the perihelion precession limits.

Subfields: Astronomy and Astrophysics, Nuclear and High Energy Physics