Related papers: Fine-structure constant constraints on dark energy
In this review we discuss the progress of the past decade in testing for a possible temporal variation of the fine structure constant $\alpha$. Advances in atomic sample preparation, laser spectroscopy and optical frequency measurements led…
Theories unifying gravity and other interactions suggest the possibility of spatial and temporal variation of physical ``constants''. Accuracy achieved for the atomic optical frequency standards (optical clocks) approaches the level when…
We present constraints on the dark energy equation-of-state parameter, w=P/(rho c^2), using 60 Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) from the ESSENCE supernova survey. We derive a set of constraints on the nature of the dark energy assuming a flat…
We investigate observational constraints on the curvature of the universe not restricting ourselves to a cosmological constant as dark energy, in particular allowing a dark energy equation of state to evolve with time in several ways. We…
Recently, the observed equation of state for dark energy appears to favor values below $-1$. The tendency implies that the nature of dark energy may be quite different from that of the cosmological constant. In view of the adjustment on the…
Some recent observations provide $> 2\sigma$ evidence for phantom dark energy -- a value of the dark energy equation of state less than the cosmological-constant value of $-1$. We focus on constraining the equation of state by combining…
We revisit the idea of using varying couplings to probe the nature of dark energy, in particular by reconstructing its equation of state. We show that this method can be far superior to the standard methods (using type Ia supernovae or weak…
We use the latest compilation of observational Hubble parameter measurements estimated with the differential evolution of cosmic chronometers, in combination with the local value of the Hubble constant recently measured with 2.4% precision,…
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.…
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…
We use observational data from Type Ia Supernovae (SN), Baryon Acoustic Oscillations (BAO), Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) and observational Hubble data (OHD), and the Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) method, to constrain the cosmological…
In order to probe a possible time variation of the fine-structure constant ($\alpha$), we propose a new method based on Strong Gravitational Lensing and Type Ia Supernovae observations. By considering a class of dilaton runaway models,…
We use the Busca et al. (2012) measurement of the Hubble parameter at redshift z = 2.3 in conjunction with 21 lower z measurements, from Simon et al. (2005), Gaztanaga et al. (2009), Stern et al. (2010), and Moresco et al. (2012), to place…
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 reconstruct dark energy properties from two complementary supernova datasets -- the newly released Gold+HST sample and SNLS. The results obtained are consistent with standard $\Lambda$CDM model within $2\sigma$ error bars although the…
The equation of state characterizing the dark energy component is constrained by combining Chandra observations of the X-ray luminosity of galaxy clusters with independent measurements of the baryonic matter density and the latest…
We focus on uncertainties in supernova measurements, in particular of individual magnitudes and redshifts, to review to what extent supernovae measurements of the expansion history of the universe are likely to allow us to constrain a…
A new method for examining the possible space-time variation of the fine structure constant ($\alpha$) is proposed. The technique uses a relatively simple measurement with an optical resonator to compare atom-stabilized optical frequency…
Using several cosmological observations, i.e. the cosmic microwave background anisotropies (WMAP), the weak gravitational lensing (CFHTLS), the measurements of baryon acoustic oscillations (SDSS+WiggleZ), the most recent observational…
ESPRESSO is a high-resolution-ultra-stable spectrograph for the VLT, whose commissioning will start in 2017. One of its key science goals is to test the stability of nature's fundamental couplings with unprecedented accuracy and control of…