Related papers: Limits on the Variability of Physical Constants
Attempts to measure the variability of the fine structure constant alpha over cosmological time, using spectra of high redshift quasars have produced conflicting results. We use the Many Multiplet (MM) method with Mg II and Fe II lines on…
We present evidence for variations in the fine-structure constant from Keck/HIRES spectra of 143 quasar absorption systems over the redshift range 0.2 < z_abs < 4.2. This includes 15 new systems, mostly at high-z (z_abs > 1.8). Our most…
Precise radial velocity measurements (delta v/c ~ 10^{-7}) of FeII lines in damped Ly-alpha systems from very high quality VLT/UVES spectra of quasars HE0515-4414 and Q1101-264 are used to probe cosmological time dependence of the fine…
We report deep Green Bank Telescope spectroscopy in the redshifted HI 21cm and OH 18cm lines from the $z = 0.765$ absorption system towards PMN J0134-0931. A comparison between the "satellite" OH 18cm line redshifts, or between the…
We present measurements of absorption by the 21cm hyperfine transition of neutral hydrogen toward radio sources at substantial look-back times. These data are used in combination with observations of rotational transitions of common…
The brightest southern quasar above redshift $z=1$, HE 0515$-$4414, with its strong intervening metal absorption-line system at $z_{abs}=1.1508$, provides a unique opportunity to precisely measure or limit relative variations in the…
(abridged) Quasar absorption lines provide a precise test of the assumed constancy of the fundamental constants of physics. We have investigated potential changes in the fine-structure constant, alpha, and the proton-to-electron mass ratio,…
Aims. To obtain limits on the variation of the fine-structure constant alpha and the electron-to-proton mass ratio mu over different cosmological epochs. Methods. A new approach based on the comparison of redshifts of far infrared (FIR)…
Aims. We constrain a hypothetical variation in the fundamental physical constants over the course of cosmic time. Methods. We use unique observations of the CO(7-6) rotational line and the [CI] 3P_2 - 3P_1 fine-structure line towards a…
The study of redshifted spectral lines can provide a measure of the fundamental constants over large look-back times. Current grand unified theories predict an evolution in these constants and astronomical observations offer the only…
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.…
We investigate the effect of variation in the value of the fine structure constant at high redshifts (recombination > z > 30) on the absorption of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) at 21 cm hyperfine transition of the neutral atomic…
Theories unifying gravity with other interactions suggest spatial and temporal variation of fundamental "constants" in the Universe. A change in the fine structure constant, alpha, could be detected via shifts in the frequencies of atomic…
We probe the evolution of the fine-structure constant, alpha, with cosmic time. Accurate positions of the FeII lines 1608, 2382,and 2600 A are measured in the z = 1.84 absorption system from a high-resolution (FWHM = 3.8 km/s) and high…
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…
Star-forming galaxies at high redshifts are the ideal targets to probe the hypothetical variation of the fine-structure constant alpha over cosmological time scales. We propose a modification of the alkali doublets method which allows us to…
We report the detection of redshifted HI~21cm absorption in the $z \sim 2.347$ damped Lyman-$\alpha$ absorber (DLA) towards PKS B0438-436, with the Green Bank Telescope. This is the second-highest redshift at which 21cm absorption has been…
We describe the results of a search for time variability of the fine structure constant, alpha, using absorption systems in the spectra of distant quasars. Three large optical datasets and two 21cm/mm absorption systems provide four…
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,…
We have detected the four 18cm OH lines from the $z \sim 0.765$ gravitational lens toward PMN J0134-0931. The 1612 and 1720 MHz lines are in conjugate absorption and emission, providing a laboratory to test the evolution of fundamental…