Related papers: A Simple Varying-alpha Cosmology
In some extensions of the standard model of particle physics, the values of the fundamental coupling constants vary in space and time. Some observations of quasars hint at time and spatial variation of the fine structure constant $\alpha$.…
We have investigated a cosmological model with variable speed of light (c), gravitational constant (G) and cosmological constant (Lambda). The model is shown to solve the horizon, flatness and monopole problems of the early universe. We…
The cosmological constant, i.e., the energy density stored in the true vacuum state of all existing fields in the Universe, is the simplest and the most natural possibility to describe the current cosmic acceleration. However, despite its…
We show that the Supernovae results, implying evidence for an accelerating Universe, may be closely related to the recent discovery of redshift dependence in the fine structure constant $\alpha$. The link is a class of varying speed of…
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…
The spectrograph ESPRESSO recently obtained a limit on the variation of the fine-structure constant, $\alpha$, through measurements along the line of sight of a bright quasar with a precision of $1.36$ ppm at $1\sigma$ level. This imposes…
We consider a scenario where local Lorentz invariance is violated by the existence of a preferred time direction at every space-time point. This scenario can arise in the context of quantum gravity and its description at low energies…
We consider cosmology in the Einstein-aether theory (the generally covariant theory of gravitation coupled to a dynamical timelike Lorentz-violating vector field) with a linear aether-Lagrangian. The 3+1 spacetime splitting approach is used…
This thesis describes a detailed investigation of the effects of matter inhomogeneities on the cosmological evolution of the fine structure constant using the Bekenstein-Sandvik-Barrow-Magueijo (BSBM) theory. We briefly review the…
Evidence that the fine structure constant, alpha, was different in an early epoch has recently been found in quasar (QSO) absorption spectra. An accurate laboratory measurement of alpha variation could help to distinguish between space and…
The idea that the vacuum energy density $\rho_{\Lambda}$ could be time dependent is a most reasonable one in the expanding Universe; in fact, much more reasonable than just a rigid cosmological constant for the entire cosmic history. Being…
We develop a new model for the Universe based on two key assumptions: first, the inertial energy of the Universe is a constant, and second, the total energy of a particle, the inertial plus the gravitational potential energy produced by the…
I briefly present some current theoretical motivations for time or space variations of the fundamental constants of nature and review current key observational results. I focus on the fine-structure constant, and particularly on…
We derive an arbitrary-gauge criterion under which condensed matter within an electromagnetic field may transition to a photon condensed phase. Previous results are recovered by selecting the Coulomb-gauge wherein photon condensation can…
A mildly inhomogeneous universe with a cosmological constant may look like it contains evolving dark energy. We show that could be the case by modelling the inhomogeneities and their effects in three different ways: as clumped matter…
I try to revive, and possibly reconcile, a debate started a few years ago, about the relative roles of a bare cosmological constant and of a vacuum energy, by taking the attitude to try to get the most from the physics now available as…
Cosmology struggles with the theoretical problems generated by the observed value and recent emergence of a cosmological constant, in the standard model of cosmology, i.e. the concordance model. We propose to provide a more natural…
In some cosmological theories with varying constants there are anthropic reasons why the expansion of the universe must not be too {\it close} to flatness or the cosmological constant too close to zero. Using exact theories which…
Review of recent works devoted to the temporal and spatial variation of the fundamental constants and dependence of the fundamental constants on the gravitational potential (violation of local position invariance) is presented. We discuss…
Motivated by the cosmological constant and the coincidence problems, we consider a cosmological model where the cosmological constant $\Lambda_0$ is replaced by a cosmological term $\Lambda(t)$ which is allowed to vary in time. More…