Related papers: Changing alpha With Time: Implications For Fifth-F…
Starting from astrophysical indications that the fine structure constant might undergo a small cosmological time shift, we discuss the implications of such an effect from the point of view of particle physics. Grand unification implies…
We discuss the fundamemtal constants in the Standard Model of particle physics, in particular possible changes of these constants on the cosmological time scale. The Grand Unification of the observed strong, electromagnetic and weak…
The aim of this paper is to derive limits on various forms of ``new physics'' using atomic experimental data. Interactions with dark energy and dark matter fields can lead to space-time variations of fundamental constants, which can be…
We investigate an Early Coupled Quintessence model where a light scalar mediates a fifth force stronger than gravity among dark matter particles and leads to the growth of perturbations prior to matter-radiation equality. Using cosmological…
We start with a brief account of the latest analysis of the Oklo phenomenon providing the still most stringent constraint on time-variability of the fine- structure constant $\alpha$. Comparing this with the recent result from the…
The framework for considering the astronomical and cosmological observations in the context of scalar-tensor quintessence in which the quintessence field also accounts for a time dependence of the gravitational constant is developed. The…
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…
It has been widely believed that variability of the fine-structure constant alpha would imply detectable violations of the weak equivalence principle. This belief is not justified in general. It is put to rest here in the context of the…
We consider the general class of theories in which there is a new ultralight scalar field that mediates an equivalence principle violating, long-range force. In such a framework, the sun and the earth act as sources of the scalar field,…
Changes in the values of the fundamental constants mu, the proton to electron mass ratio, and alpha, the fine structure constant due to rolling scalar fields have been discussed both in the context of cosmology and in new physics such as…
It is well-known that $f(R)$ theories in Einstein frame is conformally equivalent to quintessence models in which the scalar field minimally couples with gravity. If there exists a matter system in Jordan frame, then it interacts with the…
We introduce a model which allows the fine structure constant (alpha) to vary throughout space and time due to a coupling to a scalar field with a non-canonical kinetic structure. This provided a new extension of the…
We examine the variation of the fine structure constant in the context of a two-field quintessence model. We find that, for solutions that lead to a transient late period of accelerated expansion, it is possible to fit the data arising from…
Dynamical scalar fields in an effective four-dimensional field theory are naturally expected to couple to the rest of the theory's degrees of freedom, unless some new symmetry is postulated to suppress these couplings. In particular, a…
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…
A coupling between a scalar field (representing the dark energy) and dark matter could produce rich phenomena in cosmology. It affects cosmic structure formation mainly through the fifth force, a velocity-dependent force that acts parallel…
We present a review of recent works devoted to the variation of the fine structure constant alpha, strong interaction and fundamental masses. There are some hints for the variation in quasar absorption spectra, Big Bang nucleosynthesis, and…
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…
There has been some evidence that the fine structure "constant" $\alpha$ may vary with time. We point out that this variation can be described by a scalar field in some supergravity theory in our toy model, for instance, the N=8 extended…
We investigate the possibility of replacing the cosmological constant with gradual condensation of a scalar field produced during the decay of a superheavy dark matter. The advantage of this class of models to the ordinary quintessence is…