Related papers: The Wall of Fundamental Constants
We reconsider a cosmological evolution of domain walls produced by spontaneous breaking of an approxime discrete symmetry. We show, that domain walls may never collapse even if the standard bound on the vacuum energy asymmetry is satisfied.…
Recent updated results of quasar spectra suggested a 3.9$\sigma$ significance of spatial variation of the fine-structure constant. Theoretically, it is important to examine whether the fine-structure constant, as a fundamental constant in…
We review recent activity searching for variations in the fundamental constants of nature in quasar absorption spectra and in the laboratory. While research in this direction has been ongoing for many decades, the topic has recently been…
We analyze the consistency of different astronomical data of the variation in the fine-structure constant obtained with KECK and VLT. We tested the consistency using the Student test and confidence intervals. We splited the data sets in to…
If the fine structure constant $\alpha =e^2/(\hbar c)$ were to change, then a number of interpretations would be possible, attributing this change either to variations in the electron charge, the dielectric constant of the vacuum, the speed…
We describe the results of a search for time variability of the fine structure constant, alpha, using absorption systems in the spectra of distant quasars. Three large optical datasets and two 21cm/mm absorption systems provide four…
Cosmological dark energy is a natural source of variation of the fine structure constant. Using a model-independent approach we show that once general assumptions about the alpha-varying interactions are made, astronomical probes of its…
We study a theory in which the electromagnetic field is disformally coupled to a scalar field, in addition to a usual non-minimal electromagnetic coupling. We show that disformal couplings modify the expression for the fine-structure…
Cosmological domain walls appear in many well-motivated extensions to the standard model of particle physics. If produced, they quickly enter into a self-similar scaling regime, where they are capable of efficiently sourcing a stochastic…
We show that a system of a domain wall coupled to a scalar field has static negative energy density at certain distances from the domain wall. This system provides a simple, explicit example of violation of the averaged weak energy…
We start with a brief account of the latest analysis of the Oklo phenomenon providing the still most stringent constraint on time-variability of the fine- structure constant $\alpha$. Comparing this with the recent result from the…
We study the evolution of biased domain walls in the early universe. We explicitly discuss the roles played by the surface tension and volume pressure in the evolution of the walls, and quantify their effects by looking at the collapse of…
Our main interest is the evolution of domain walls of the Higgs field in the early Universe. The aim of this paper is to understand how dynamics of Higgs domain walls could be influenced by yet unknown interactions from beyond the Standard…
We study the interaction of particles with a domain wall at a symmetry-breaking phase transition by perturbing about the domain wall solution. We find the particulate excitations appropriate near the domain wall and relate them to the…
Here we apply the Generalized Second Law of Thermodynamics and derive upper limits on the variation in the fundamental constants. The maximum variation in the electronic charge permitted for black holes accreting and emitting in the present…
We discuss how laboratory experiments can be used to place constraints on possible variations of the fine structure constant alpha in the observationally relevant redshift interval z ~= 0 - 5, within a rather general theoretical framework.…
The spontaneous breaking of an approximate discrete symmetry is considered, with the resulting protodomains of true and false vacuum being separated by domain walls. Given a strong, symmetric Yukawa coupling of the real scalar field to a…
We work with a class of scalar extended theory of gravity that can drive the present cosmic acceleration as well as accommodate a mild cosmic variation of the fine structure constant $\alpha$. The motivation comes from a vintage theory…
Using the BSBM varying-alpha theory, with dark matter dominated by magnetic energy, and the spherical collapse model for cosmological structure formation, we have studied the effects of the dark-energy equation of state and the coupling of…
Star-forming galaxies at high redshifts are the ideal targets to probe the hypothetical variation of the fine-structure constant alpha over cosmological time scales. We propose a modification of the alkali doublets method which allows us to…