相关论文: Subaru Telescope limits on cosmological variations…
At redshifts z_abs < 2, quasar absorption-line constraints on space-time variations in the fine-structure constant, alpha, rely on the comparison of MgII and FeII transition wavelengths. One potentially important uncertainty is the relative…
We review the evidence behind recent claims of spatial variation in the fine structure constant deriving from observations of ionic absorption lines in the light from distant quasars. To this end we expand upon previous non-Bayesian…
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…
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…
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…
We present high angular resolution ($\sim$0.5$^\prime$$^\prime$) MIR spectra of the powerful radio galaxy, Cygnus A, obtained with the Subaru telescope. The overall shape of the spectra agree with previous high angular resolution MIR…
Quasar absorption spectra at 21-cm and UV rest-wavelengths are used to estimate the time variation of x=alpha^2 g_p mu, where alpha is the fine structure constant, g_p the proton g factor, and m_e/m_p=mu the electron/proton mass ratio. Over…
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…
Optical quasar spectra can be used to trace variations of the fine-structure constant alpha. Controversial results that have been published in last years suggest that in addition to to wavelength calibration problems systematic errors might…
We present new measurements of the quasar luminosity function (LF) at $z \sim 6$, over an unprecedentedly wide range of the rest-frame ultraviolet luminosity $M_{1450}$ from $-30$ to $-22$ mag. This is the fifth in a series of publications…
Endeavours of the unification of the four fundamental interactions have resulted in a development of theories having cosmological solutions in which low-energy limits of fundamental physical constants vary with time. The validity of such…
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…
Investigating the Gunn-Peterson trough of high redshift quasars (QSOs) is a powerful way to reveal the cosmic reionization. As one of such attempts, we perform a series of analyses to examine the absorption lines observed with one of the…
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,…
Recent detections of high-redshift absorption by both atomic hydrogen and molecular gas in the radio spectra of quasars have provided a powerful tool to measure possible temporal and spatial variations of physical `constants' in the…
Hot white dwarf stars are the ideal probe for a relationship between the fine-structure constant and strong gravitational fields, providing us with an opportunity for a direct observational test. We study a sample of hot white dwarf stars,…
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…
Recent work by Webb {\it et al.} has provided indications of spatial variations of the fine-structure constant, $\alpha$, at a level of a few parts per million. Using a dataset of 293 archival measurements, they further show that a dipole…
In a recent publication [Ferreira {\it et al.}, Phys. Rev. D89 (2014) 083011] we tested the consistency of current astrophysical tests of the stability of the fine-structure constant $\alpha$ and the proton-to-electron mass ratio…
Temporal and spatial variation of fine-structure constant $\alpha\equiv e^2/\hbar c$ in cosmology has been reported in analysis of combination Keck and VLT data. This paper studies this variation based on consideration of basic spacetime…