Related papers: Does the fine structure constant vary? A third qua…
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…
Comparison of quasar absorption line spectra with laboratory spectra provides a precise probe for variability of the fine structure constant, alpha, over cosmological time-scales. We constrain variation in alpha in 21 Keck/HIRES Si IV…
High resolution spectra of quasar absorption systems provide the best constraints on temporal or spatial changes of fundamental constants in the early universe. An important systematic that has never before been quantified concerns model…
(Abridged) Many-multiplet (MM) method applied to three inhomogeneous samples of Keck/HIRES quasar absorption spectra gives a shift in the value of the fine-structure constant of Delta alpha/alpha = (-5.4+/-1.2) 10^{-6} in the redshift range…
We study the observed small deviations of high-redshift absorption spectra that are interpreted as a possible evidence for a variable fine structure constant. On the contrary, we claim that the effect could be completely attributed to the…
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 review recent activity searching for variations in the fundamental constants of nature in quasar absorption spectra and in the laboratory. While research in this direction has been ongoing for many decades, the topic has recently been…
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…
Recent observations on the quasar absorption spectra supply evidence for the variation of the fine structure constant $\alpha$. In this paper, we propose another interpretation of the observational data on the quasar absorption spectra: a…
There are indications from the study of quasar absorption spectra that the fine structure constant $\alpha$ may have been measurably smaller for redshifts $z>2.$ Analyses of other data ($^{149}$Sm fission rate for the Oklo natural reactor,…
(abridged) We present a new analysis of a large sample of quasar absorption-line spectra obtained using UVES (the Ultraviolet and Visual Echelle Spectrograph) on the VLT (Very Large Telescope) in Chile. In the VLT sample (154 absorbers), we…
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…
We summarize the attempts by our group and others to derive constraints on variations of fundamental constants over cosmic time using quasar absorption lines. Most upper limits reside in the range 0.5-1.5x10-5 at the 3sigma level over a…
Observations of the redshift z=7.085 quasar J1120+0641 have been used to search for variations of the fine structure constant, alpha, over the redshift range 5.5 to 7.1. Observations at z=7.1 probe the physics of the universe when it was…
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,…
We review properties of cosmological theories for the variation of the fine structure 'constant'. We highlight some general features of the cosmological models that exist in these theories with reference to recent quasar data that are…
Absorption-line systems detected in high resolution quasar spectra can be used to compare the value of dimensionless fundamental constants such as the fine-structure constant, alpha, and the proton-to-electron mass ratio, mu = m_p/m_e, as…
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…
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…
We report unbiased AI measurements of the fine structure constant $\alpha$ in two proximate absorption regions in the spectrum of the quasar HE0515$-$4414. The data are high resolution, high signal to noise, and laser frequency comb…