Related papers: Possible evidence for a variable fine structure co…
Detecting or placing upper limits on spacetime variations of fundamental constants requires quantifying every potential source of uncertainty. We continue our previous study into the impact of continuum variations on measurements of the…
Quasar spectra reveal a rich array of important astrophysical information about galaxies which intersect the quasar line of sight. They also enable tests of the variability of fundamental constants over cosmological time and…
Searches for spacetime variations of fundamental constants have entered an era of unprecedented precision. New, high quality quasar spectra require increasingly refined analytic methods. In this article, a continuation in a series to…
We consider several transitions between narrow lines that have an enhanced sensitivity to a possible variation of the fine structure constant, alpha. This enhancement may allow a search to be performed with an effective suppression of the…
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…
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…
The Single Ion Differential alpha Measurement (SIDAM) method for measuring fine stucture variations (daa)and its figures of merit are illustrated together with the results produced by means of FeII absorption lines of QSO intervening…
At redshifts z_abs < 2, quasar absorption-line constraints on space-time variations in the fine-structure constant, alpha, rely on the comparison of MgII and FeII transition wavelengths. One potentially important uncertainty is the relative…
If the reported measurements of the time variation of the fine structure constant from observations of distant QSOs are correct, combined with the Oklo limit they would strongly constrain the class of the quintessence potential. If these…
The remarkable detection of a spatial variation in the fine-structure constant, alpha, from quasar absorption systems must be independently confirmed by complementary searches. In this letter, we discuss how terrestrial measurements of…
The data from the QSO absorption lines indicating a nonzero time-variability of the fine-structure constant has been re-analyzed on the basis of a "damped-oscillator" fit, as motivated by the same type of behavior of a scalar field,…
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.…
Previous, large samples of quasar absorption spectra have indicated some evidence for relative variations in the fine-structure constant ($\Delta\alpha/\alpha$) across the sky. However, they were likely affected by long-range distortions of…
The fine structure constant, $\alpha$, sets the strength of the electromagnetic force. The Standard Model of particle physics provides no explanation for its value, which could potentially vary. The wavelengths of stellar absorption lines…
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…
Absorption spectroscopy toward high-redshift quasars provides strong constraints on the putative variation of fundamental constants of physics on cosmological time scales. The submillimeter ground-state transitions of methylidyne (CH) and…
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…
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…
Theories unifying gravity and other interactions suggest the possibility of spatial and temporal variation of physical ``constants'' in the Universe. Detection of high redshift absorption systems intersecting the sight lines towards distant…
We use the strong nebular lines of O III, 5007 A and 4959 A, to set a robust upper limit on the time dependence of the fine structure constant. We find |alpha^{-1} d alpha(t)/dt | < 2*10^{-13} yr, corresponding to Delta alpha/alpha(0) =…