Related papers: Constraining Variations in the Fine-Structure Cons…
The formation of the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR) provides a very powerful probe of the early universe at the epoch of recombination. Specifically, it is possible to constrain the variation of fundamental physical constants…
A time variation in the Higgs vacuum expectation value alters the electron mass and thereby changes the ionization history of the universe. This change produces a measurable imprint on the pattern of cosmic microwave background (CMB)…
The possible variation of the fine structure constant may be due to the non-minimal coupling of the electromagnetic field to a light scalar field which can be the candidate of dark energy. Its dynamical nature renders the fine structure…
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…
We study the effects on cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature and polarization anisotropies of spatial fluctuations of the fine-structure parameter between causally disconnected regions of the Universe at the time of recombination.…
Recent measurements of a peak in the angular power spectrum of the cosmic microwave background appear to suggest that geometry of the universe is close to being flat. But if other accepted indicators of cosmological parameters are also…
Any variation of the fundamental physical constants, and more particularly of the fine structure constant, $\alpha$, or of the mass of the electron, $m_e$, would affect the recombination history of the Universe and cause an imprint on the…
The recent measurements of the Cosmic Microwave Background anisotropies at arcminute angular scales performed by the ACT and SPT experiments are probing the damping regime of CMB fluctuations. The analysis of these datasets unexpectedly…
The fine-structure constant, $\alpha$, controls the strength of the electromagnetic interaction. There are extensions of the standard model in which $\alpha$ is dynamical on cosmological length and time-scales. The physics of the cosmic…
We derive strong observational limits on any possible large-scale spatial variation in the values of physical 'constants' whose space-time evolution is driven by a scalar field. The limits are imposed by the isotropy of the microwave…
In cosmology, the fine-structure constant can affect the whole ionization history. However, the previous works confine themselves to the recombination epoch and give various strong constraints on the fine-structure constant. In this paper,…
The observation of space-time variations in fundamental constants would provide strong evidence for the existence of new light degrees of freedom in the theory of Nature. Robustly constraining such scenarios requires exploiting observations…
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 investigate constraints on the time variation of the fine structure constant between the recombination epoch and the present epoch, \Delta\alpha/\alpha \equiv (\alpha_{rec} - \alpha_{now})/\alpha_{now}, from cosmic microwave background…
The effect of fractal space time of the quantum particles on the variation of the fine structure constant $\alpha$ has been studied. The variation of fine structure constant has been investigated around De Broglie length $\lambda$ and…
We study constraints on time variation of the fine structure constant alpha from cosmic microwave background (CMB) taking into account simultaneous change in alpha and the electron mass m_e which might be implied in unification theories. We…
The Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) fluctuations at very small angular scales (less than $10'$) induced by matter sources are computed in a simplified way. The result corrects a previous formula appearing in the literature. The small…
At present several groups are analyzing astrophysical data in a search for time-variation of the fine structure constant $\alpha$. Here we discuss how to exclude systematic effects caused by the changes in the isotope abundances during the…
I review recent constraints on and claimed detections of a time-varying fine-structure constant $\alpha$, and discuss our own work, particularly on the effects of $\alpha$ in the cosmic microwave background and large-scale structure. Our…
We forecast the ability of future CMB and galaxy lensing surveys to constrain variations of the fine structure constant. We found that lensing data, as those expected from satellite experiments as Euclid could improve the constraint from…