Related papers: The Fine-Structure Constant as a Scaled Quantity
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…
Recent experimental data indicates that the fine structure constant alpha may be varying on cosmological time scales. We consider the possibility that such a variation could be induced by a second order phase transition which occurs at late…
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…
The fine-structure constant {\alpha}, the dimensionless number that represents the strength of electromagnetic coupling in the limit of sufficiently low energy interactions, is the crucial fundamental physical parameter that governs a…
The fine-structure constant alpha does not vary as Friedmann Universes evolve, a conclusion based on assessments of quantum mechanics and electrodynamics. alpha = e^2/(4pi epsilon hbar c), where e is the charge of the electron, epsilon is…
Determination of the fine structure constant alpha and search for its possible variation are considered. We focus on a role of the fine structure constant in modern physics and discuss precision tests of quantum electrodynamics. Different…
We briefly review the recent experimental results on possible variations of the fine structure constant $\alpha$ on the cosmological time scale and its position dependence. We outline the theoretical grounds for the assumption that $\alpha$…
Astrophysical observations suggest that the fine structure constant (alpha) may (or may not) be evolving over the cosmological time scale. This raises a much debated question: is alpha variation due to the variation of the speed of light…
The observed constraints on the variability of the proton to electron mass ratio $\mu$ and the fine structure constant $\alpha$ are used to establish constraints on the variability of the Quantum Chromodynamic Scale and a combination of the…
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…
A possible explanation is offered for the longstanding mystery surrounding the meaning of the fine structure constant. The reasoning is based on a discrete self-similar cosmological paradigm that has shown promise in explaining the general…
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…
We study the evolution of the fine-structure constant, $\alpha$, induced by non-linear density perturbations in the context of the simplest class of quintessence models with a non-minimal coupling to the electromagnetic field, in which the…
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…
We consider the signatures of a domain wall produced in the spontaneous symmetry breaking involving a dilaton-like scalar field coupled to electromagnetism. Domains on either side of the wall exhibit slight differences in their respective…
In this paper, we investigate how the fine structure constant, $\alpha$, locally varies in the presence of a static and spherically symmetric gravitational source. The procedure consists in calculating the solution and the energy…
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…
Recent theoretical ideas and observational claims suggest that the fine structure constant alpha may be variable. We examine a spectrum of models in which alpha is a function of a scalar field. Specifically, we consider three scenarios:…
A recently proposed topological mechanism for the quantization of the charge gives the value e_0=\sqrt{\hbar c} for both the fundamental electric and magnetic charges. It is argued that the corresponding fine structure constant…
It is possible that fundamental constants may not be constant at all. There is a generally accepted view that one can only talk about variations of dimensionless quantities, such as the fine structure constant $\alpha_{\rm e}\equiv…