Weak-field limit of conformal Weyl gravity

Abstract

We study the weak-field limit of the conformal Weyl gravity suggested by Mannheim as an alternative to Einstein's General Relativity modeling both dark matter and dark energy. We solve the field equations of the theory in the weak-field approximation for an arbitrary spherically symmetric static distribution of matter in the physical gauge with constant scalar field. Analysing the obtained solution, we conclude that the conformal theory of gravitaty is inconsistent with the Solar-system observational data.