Related papers: Robust laboratory limits on a cosmological spatial…
Calculation of the Dirac hydrogen atom spectrum in the framework of dynamical fine structure constant (alpha) variability discloses a small departure in the laboratory from Sommerfeld's formula for the fine structure shifts, possibly…
The detection of a spatial variation of the fine-structure constant, alpha, based on study of quasar absorption systems has recently been reported. The physics that causes this alpha-variation should have other observable manifestations,…
Large statistical samples of quasar spectra have previously indicated possible cosmological variations in the fine-structure constant, $\alpha$. A smaller sample of higher signal-to-noise ratio spectra, with dedicated calibration, would…
A new method based on large-scale structure observations is proposed to probe a possible time variation of the fine-structure constant ($\alpha$). Our analyses are based on time-delay of Strong Gravitational Lensing and Type Ia Supernovae…
Detection of high-redshift absorption in the optical spectra of quasars have provided a powerful tool to measure spatial and temporal variations of physical ``constants'' in the Universe. It is demonstrated that high sensitivity to the…
The recent evidence for a cosmological evolution of the fine structure constant \alpha=e^2/\hbar c found from an analysis of absorption systems in the spectra of distant quasars, is modelled by a cosmological scenario in which it is assumed…
We use the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) anisotropy data from Planck to constrain the spatial fluctuations of the fine-structure constant \alpha. Through Thompson scattering of CMB photons, spatial anisotropies of \alpha lead to…
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…
The increased collecting area of the ELTs will bring fainter high-z targets within the reach of high-resolution ultra-stable spectrographs, thus enabling a new generation of precision consistency tests, including tests of the stability of…
The fine-structure constant, $\alpha$, controls the strength of the electromagnetic interaction. There are extensions of the standard model in which $\alpha$ is dynamical on cosmological length and time-scales. The physics of the cosmic…
We use recent astrophysical and local tests of the stability of the fine-structure constant, $\alpha$, to constrain a particular phenomenological but physically motivated class of models in which the dark energy equation of state can…
The [O III] $\lambda\lambda\ 4960,5008$ emission lines in the optical spectra of galaxies and quasars have been widely used to investigate the possible variation of the fine-structure constant $\alpha$ over cosmic time. In this work, we…
In the present work, we consider the cosmological constant model $\Lambda\propto\alpha^{-6}$, which is well motivated from three independent approaches. As is well known, the hint of varying fine structure constant $\alpha$ was found in…
If the fundamental constants of nature have a cosmic spatial variation, there will in general be extra forces with a preferred direction in space which violate the equivalence principle. We show that the millimeter-precision Apache Point…
Most of the successful physical theories rely on the constancy of few fundamental quantities (such as the speed of light, $c$, the fine-structure constant, \alpha, the proton to electron mass ratio, \mu, etc), and constraining the possible…
An experimental search for variation in the fundamental coupling constants is strongly motivated by modern high-energy physics theories. Comparison of quasar absorption line spectra with laboratory spectra provides a sensitive probe for…
Astrophysical tests of the stability of fundamental couplings are becoming an increasingly important probe of new physics. Motivated by the recent availability of new and stronger constraints we update previous works testing the consistency…
In their Letter [Phys. Rev. Lett. 92, 121302 (2004)] (also [Astron. Astrophys. 417, 853 (2004)]), Srianand et al. analysed optical spectra of heavy-element species in 23 absorption systems along background quasar sight-lines, reporting…
We demonstrate that recent measurements of Cosmic Microwave Background temperature and polarization anisotropy made by the ACBAR, QUAD and BICEP experiments substantially improve the cosmological constraints on possible variations of the…
Modifications of gravity generated by a multiplicative coupling of a scalar field to the electromagnetic Lagrangian lead to a breaking of Einstein equivalence principle (EEPB) as well as to variations of fundamental constants. In these…