Published December 5, 2002 | Version v1
Journal article

Is it e or is it c? Experimental tests of varying alpha

Description

Is the recent evidence for a time-varying fine structure 'constant' α to be interpreted as a varying e, c, ℎ, or a combination thereof? We consider the simplest varying electric charge and varying speed of light (VSL) theories and prove that for the same type of dark matter they predict opposite senses of variation in α over cosmological times. We also show that unlike varying e theories, VSL theories do not predict violations of the weak equivalence principle (WEP). Varying e theories which explain astronomical inferences of varying α predict WEP violations only an order of magnitude smaller than existing Eoetvoes experiment limits but could be decisively tested by STEP. We finally exhibit a set of atomic-clock and related experiments for which all (hyperbolic) varying α theories predict non-null results. They provide independent tests of the recent astronomical evidence

Additional details

Identifiers

PII
S0370269302029283;

Publishing Information

Journal Title
Physics Letters. Section B
Journal Volume
549
Journal Issue
3-4
Journal Page Range
p. 284-289
ISSN
0370-2693
CODEN
PYLBAJ

INIS

Country of Publication
Netherlands
Country of Input or Organization
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
INIS RN
37072672
Subject category
S71: CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSICS;
Descriptors DEI
ELECTRIC CHARGES; EQUIVALENCE PRINCIPLE; NONLUMINOUS MATTER; VELOCITY; VIOLATIONS; VISIBLE RADIATION
Descriptors DEC
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION; MATTER; RADIATIONS

Optional Information

Copyright
Copyright (c) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, All rights reserved.