Related papers: The Meaning Of The Fine Structure Constant
Murphy et al. (2003a, MNRAS, 345, 609) claim to find evidence of cosmological variations of the fine structure constant $\alpha$ in the spectra of intervening QSO absorption line systems. We find that this result is affected by systematic…
The traditional "explanation" for the observed acceleration of the universe is the existence of a positive cosmological constant. However, this can hardly be a truly convincing explanation, as an expanding universe is not expected to have a…
If the fine structure constant is not really constant, is this due to a variation of $e$, $\hbar$, or $c$? It is argued that the only reasonable conclusion is a variable speed of light.
Fundamental constants are a cornerstone of the physical laws. Any constant varying in space and/or time would signal a violation of local position invariance and be associated with a violation of the universality of free fall, and hence of…
The cosmological implications of introducing a variation to the fine structure `constant', \alpha are examined within the context of Loop Quantum Cosmology. The evolution of \alpha is described using the model introduced by Bekenstein,…
We examine the recently derived quantum-mechanical relation between atomic polarizabilities and equilibrium internuclear distances in van der Waals (vdW) bonded diatomic systems [Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 121}, 183401 (2018)]. For homonuclear…
We argue that models in which an observable variation of the fine structure constant is explained by motion of a cosmic scalar field, are not stable under renormalization, and require massive fine tuning that cannot be explained by any…
Recently a scale invariant theory of gravity was constructed by imposing a conformal symmetry on general relativity. The imposition of this symmetry changed the configuration space from superspace - the space of all Riemannian 3-metrics…
We present a theoretical calculation on the time-variability of the fine-structure constant to fit the result of the recent precise analysis of the measurement of the QSO absorption lines. We find the parameters and initial values of the…
There are obvious discrepancies among various experimental constraints on the variation of the fine-structure constant, $\alpha$. We attempt to discuss the issue in the framework of de Sitter invariant Special Relativity (${\cal SR}_{c,R}$)…
The structure formation in the local Universe is considered within the weak-field modification of General Relativity involving the cosmological constant. This approach enables to describe the dynamics of groups and clusters of galaxies, to…
The Generalized Uncertainty Principle (GUP) has been discussed in the thick braneworld scenario. By considering Rydberg atoms in this background, we show that the spacetime geometry affects Maxwell equations inducing an effective dielectric…
We make use of Dirac LNH and results for a time varying fine structure constant in order to derive possible laws of variation for speed of light, the number of nucleons in the Universe, energy density and gravitational constant. By…
Our conventional system of physical units is based on local or microscopic {\it dimensional} quantities which are {\it defined}, for convenience or otherwise aesthetic reasons, to be spacetime-independent. A more general choice of units may…
We assume that the coupling between particles and photons is defined by a surface area and a temperature, and that the square of the temperature is the inverse of the surface area (h_bar=c=1). By making assumptions regarding stimulated…
The value of the cosmological constant is explained in terms of a noisy diffusion of energy from the low energy particle physics degrees of freedom to the fundamental Planckian granularity which is expected from general arguments in quantum…
We study the change of the effective fine structure constant in the cosmological models of a scalar field with a non-vanishing coupling to the electromagnetic field. Combining cosmological data and terrestrial observations we place…
Remarkably accurate fine structure constants are calculated from assumptions further developed from two earlier publications. We have put together a series of energy scales related to various physical phenomena such as the Planck scale, a…
The cosmological constant problem can be understood as the failure of the decoupling principle behind effective field theory, so that some quantities in the low-energy theory are extremely sensitive to the high-energy properties. While this…
Astronomical observations have a unique ability to determine the laws of physics at distant times in the universe. They, therefore, have particular relevance in answering the basic question as to whether the laws of physics are invariant…