Further constraints on variation of the fine structure constant from alkali doublet QSO absorption lines
M. T. Murphy, J. K. Webb, V. V. Flambaum, J. X. Prochaska, A. M. Wolfe
Abstract
Comparison of quasar absorption line spectra with laboratory spectra provides a precise probe for variability of the fine structure constant, alpha, over cosmological time-scales. We constrain variation in alpha in 21 Keck/HIRES Si IV absorption systems using the alkali doublet (AD) method in which changes in alpha are related to changes in the doublet spacing. The precision obtained with the AD method has been increased by a factor of 3: da/a = (-0.5 +/- 1.3) * 10-5. We also analyse potential systematic errors in this result. Finally, we compare the AD method with the many-multiplet method which has achieved an order of magnitude greater precision and we discuss the future of the AD method.
Create a lesson
Related papers
On binary pulsars and the force of gravity
Davor Palle
Tidal torques. A critical review of some techniques
Michael Efroimsky, James G. Williams
Dynamics of a Spherical Accretion Shock with Neutrino Heating and Alpha-Particle Recombination
Rodrigo Fernández, Christopher Thompson
Asymptotically FRW black holes
J. T. Firouzjaee, Reza Mansouri
Reaction of Accretion Disks to Abrupt Mass Loss During Binary Black Hole Merger
Sean M. O'Neill, M. Coleman Miller, Tamara Bogdanovic et al.
A Gamma-Ray Burst/Pulsar for Cosmic-Ray Positrons with a Dark Matter-like Spectrum
Kunihito Ioka