Placing direct limits on the mass of earth-bound dark matter

Abstract

We point out that by comparing the total mass (in gravitational units) of the earth-moon system, as determined by lunar laser ranging, with the sum of the lunar mass as independently determined by its gravitational action on satellites or asteroids, and the earth mass, as determined by the LAGEOS geodetic survey satellite, one can get a direct measure of the mass of earth-bound dark matter lying between the radius of the moon's orbit and the geodetic satellite orbit. Current data show that the mass of such earth-bound dark matter must be less than $4 \times 10^{-9}$ of the earth's mass.