Does the Fine-Structure Constant Really Vary in Time?
- 1 November 1998
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Astronomical Society in The Astrophysical Journal
- Vol. 507 (1) , L13-L15
- https://doi.org/10.1086/311664
Abstract
We discuss how laboratory experiments can be used to place constraints on possible variations of the fine-structure constant α in the observationally relevant redshift interval z0-5, within a rather general theoretical framework. We find a worst case upper limit for Δα/α of 8×10−6 for z≤5 and Δα/α of 0.9×10−6 for z≤1.6. The derived limits are at variance with the recent findings by Webb et al., who claim an observed variation of Δα/α=-2.6±0.4×10−5 at 1<z<1.6.Keywords
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