Related papers: Stringent null constraint on cosmological evolutio…
In this work, we test a possible redshift variation of the electron-to-proton mass ratio, $\mu = m_e/m_p$, directly from galaxy cluster gas mass fraction measurements and type Ia supernovae observations. Our result reveals no variation of…
That the laws of physics are the same at all times and places throughout the Universe is one of the basic assumptions of physics. Astronomical observations provide the only means to test this basic assumption on cosmological time and…
We use Big Bang Nucleosynthesis calculations and light element abundance data to constrain the relative variation of the deuteron binding energy since the universe was a few minutes old, $\delta Q = Q(BBN)-Q(present)$. Two approaches are…
Absorption lines of H$_2$ and HD molecules observed at high redshift in the line of sight towards quasars are a test ground to search for variation of the proton-to-electron mass ratio $\mu$. For this purpose, results from astronomical…
We report deep Green Bank Telescope (GBT) spectroscopy in the redshifted NH$_3$~(1,1), CS~1-0 and H$_2$CO~0$_{\rm 00}$-1$_{\rm 01}$ lines from the $z \sim 0.685$ absorber towards B0218+357. The inversion (NH$_3$) and rotational (CS,…
Transitions in atoms and molecules provide an ideal test ground for constraining or detecting a possible variation of the fundamental constants of nature. In this Perspective, we review molecular species that are of specific interest in the…
Aims. To obtain limits on the variation of the fine-structure constant alpha and the electron-to-proton mass ratio mu over different cosmological epochs. Methods. A new approach based on the comparison of redshifts of far infrared (FIR)…
The possibility of using astrophysical observations of rotational transitions in the methanol molecule to measure, or constrain temporal and spatial variations in the proton-to-electron mass ratio (mu) has recently been investigated by…
Recent astrophysical observations of quasar absorption systems indicate that the fine structure constant $\alpha$ and the proton-electron mass ratio $\mu$ may have evolved through the history of the universe. Motivated by these…
Nine quasar absorption spectra at 21-cm and UV rest-wavelengths are used to estimate possible variations in x=alpha^2 g_p mu, (alpha is the fine structure constant, g_p the proton g-factor and mu=me/mp the electron-to-proton mass ratio). We…
We present the quantum-mechanical calculations of the dimensionless sensitivity coefficients Q to small changes in the fundamental physical constant mu = m_e/m_p - the electron-to-proton mass ratio - for a number of low-frequency (1-50 GHz)…
We report a limit on the fractional temporal variation of the proton-to-electron mass ratio as, obtained by comparing the frequency of a rovibrational transition in SF6 with the fundamental hyperfine transition in Cs. The SF6 transition was…
Absorption spectroscopy toward high-redshift quasars provides strong constraints on the putative variation of fundamental constants of physics on cosmological time scales. The submillimeter ground-state transitions of methylidyne (CH) and…
Numerous accidental near-degeneracies exist between the $2\nu_2$ and $\nu_4$ rotation-vibration energy levels of ammonia. Transitions between these two states possess significantly enhanced sensitivity to a possible variation of the…
We consider the influence of variation in the fine structure constant alpha on a promising experiment proposed by DeMille et al. to search for variation in the electron-to-proton mass ratio mu using diatomic molecules [DeMille et al., Phys.…
Changes in the values of the fundamental constants mu, the proton to electron mass ratio, and alpha, the fine structure constant due to rolling scalar fields have been discussed both in the context of cosmology and in new physics such as…
The observation of space-time variations in fundamental constants would provide strong evidence for the existence of new light degrees of freedom in the theory of Nature. Robustly constraining such scenarios requires exploiting observations…
We discuss that it is quite possible to realize the smooth transition of the universe between a matter/radiation dominated deceleration and a dark energy dominated acceleration, even with a variation of proton-to-electron mass ratio. The…
In this paper, we show that methanol (CH3OH) torsional-rotational transitions, which have increased sensitivity to small variations of mu - the electron-to-proton mass ratio, are shifted relative to less sensitive transitions in the…
We report new upper limits on any possible long-term time variation of the ratio of the electron to proton masses, $(m_e/m_p)$, the fine-structure constant, ($\alpha$), and the quantity $\alpha^2 g_p(m_e/m_p)$, where $g_p$ is the proton…