Related papers: Variations of the fine-structure constant $\alpha$…
Last year I talked at this meeting about a possible time dependence of the QCD coupling constant $\alpha_s$. This year I shall look into the problem once more, without fully repeating the arguments given last year. Astrophysical indications…
Recent observations show that the electromagnetic fine-structure constant, $\alpha_e$, may vary with space and time. In the framework of Finsler spacetime, we propose here an anisotropic cosmological model, in which both the spatial and…
We reconsider several current bounds on the variation of the fine-structure constant in models where all gauge and Yukawa couplings vary in an interdependent manner, as would be expected in unified theories. In particular, we re-examine the…
The fine structure constant, alpha, is shown to be proportional to the ratio of the quanta of electric and magnetic flux of force of the electron, and provides a new representation, which is global across all unit systems. Consequently, a…
If the recent observations suggesting a time variation of the fine structure constant are correct, they imply the existence of an ultra light scalar particle. This particle inevitably couples to nucleons through the \alpha-dependence of…
We discuss the fundamemtal constants in the Standard Model of particle physics, in particular possible changes of these constants on the cosmological time scale. The Grand Unification of the observed strong, electromagnetic and weak…
In this thesis, we focus on the study of the variation of the electron mass $m_e$, and the fine structure constant $\alpha$, at different cosmic times. We analyze the details of the recombination physics, including helium recombination, in…
We obtain constraints on the variation of the fundamental constants from the full shape of the redshift-space correlation function of a sample of luminous galaxies drawn from the Data Release 9 of the Baryonic Oscillations Spectroscopic…
We discuss experiments and observations aimed at testing the possible space-time variability of fundamental physical constants, predicted by the modern theory. Specifically, we consider two of the dimensionless physical parameters which are…
We reconsider the Re187 bound on the variation of the fine-structure constant. We combine the meteoritic measurement with several present-day lab measurements to firmly establish the quantitative upper limit to the time variation over the…
It has been a notably elusive task to find a remotely sensical ansatz for a calculation of Sommerfeld's electrodynamic fine-structure constant alpha_QED ~ 1/137.036 based on first principles. However, this has not prevented a number of…
It has been widely believed that variability of the fine-structure constant alpha would imply detectable violations of the weak equivalence principle. This belief is not justified in general. It is put to rest here in the context of the…
An attempt is made for a new type of analysis of the time-variability of the fine-structure constant trying to fit the most recent result from the laboratory measurements, the Oklo constraint and the data from the QSO absorption lines all…
We search for a variation of the electromagnetic fine structure constant ($\alpha \equiv e^2/\hbar c$) using a sample of 58 SZ selected clusters in the redshift range ($0.2<z<1.5$) detected by the South Pole Telescope, along with X-ray…
There are indications from the study of quasar absorption spectra that the fine structure constant $\alpha$ may have been measurably smaller for redshifts $z>2.$ Analyses of other data ($^{149}$Sm fission rate for the Oklo natural reactor,…
We investigate a link between the running of the fine structure constant $\alpha$ and a time evolving scalar dark energy field. Employing a versatile parameterization for the equation of state, we exhaustively cover the space of dark energy…
We consider a long range scalar force that mainly couples to dark matter and unstable Standard Model states, like the muon, with tiny strength. Probing this type of force would present a challenge to observations. We point out that the…
We present a review of recent works devoted to the variation of the fine structure constant alpha, strong interaction and fundamental masses. There are some hints for the variation in quasar absorption spectra, Big Bang nucleosynthesis, and…
Quasar absorption spectral data indicate the presence of a spatial gradient in the electromagnetic fine-structure constant $\alpha$ on cosmological length scales. We point out that experiments with accelerometers, including torsion pendula…
In 1976, Shlyakhter showed that the Sm data from Oklo results in the upper bound on the time-variability of the fine-structure constant: $|\dot{\alpha}/\alpha| \lsim 10^{-17}{\rm y}^{-1}$, which has ever been the most stringent bound. Since…