Wilczynska, MR;
Webb, JK;
Bainbridge, M;
Barrow, JD;
Bosman, SE;
Carswell, RF;
Dabrowski, MP;
... Pasquini, L; + view all
(2020)
Four direct measurements of the fine-structure constant 13 billion years ago.
Science Advances
, 6
(17)
, Article eaay9672. 10.1126/sciadv.aay9672.
Preview |
Text
eaay9672.full.pdf - Published Version Download (575kB) | Preview |
Abstract
Observations of the redshift z = 7.085 quasar J1120+0641 are used to search for variations of the fine structure constant, α, over the redshift range 5:5 to 7:1. Observations at z = 7:1 probe the physics of the universe at only 0.8 billion years old. These are the most distant direct measurements of α to date and the first measurements using a near-IR spectrograph. A new AI analysis method is employed. Four measurements from the X-SHOOTER spectrograph on the Very Large Telescope (VLT) constrain changes in a relative to the terrestrial value (α0). The weighted mean electromagnetic force in this location in the universe deviates from the terrestrial value by Δα/α = (αz − α0)/α0 = (−2:18 ± 7:27) × 10−5, consistent with no temporal change. Combining these measurements with existing data, we find a spatial variation is preferred over a no-variation model at the 3:9σ level.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Four direct measurements of the fine-structure constant 13 billion years ago |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1126/sciadv.aay9672 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aay9672 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © 2020 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works. Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial License 4.0 (CC BY-NC). |
| Keywords: | Science & Technology, Multidisciplinary Sciences, Science & Technology - Other Topics, TESTING FUNDAMENTAL PHYSICS, UVES LARGE PROGRAM, TIME-VARIATION, QUASAR, CONSTRAINTS, PRINCIPLE, REDSHIFT, SEARCH |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10097952 |
Archive Staff Only
 |
View Item |
