Constraints on the gravitational constant from observations of white dwarfs

Recently some authors have questioned whether Newton's law of gravitation is actually true on scales less than 1 km. The available constraints on the gravitational constant show that its laboratory value G0 may differ from the value at infinity Gsub(infinity) by approximately 40%. Long (1976) reported experimental evidence for departures from Newton's law. In this note it is shown that the difference between G0 and Gsub(infinity) modifies the mass-radius relation of degenerate stars. The observations of white dwarfs are consistent with the theory of stellar evolution only if G0 differs from Gsub(infinity) by not more than approximately 10%. This estimate may be improved by a higher accuracy of observations. (Auth.)