Abstract
Radio-frequency transitions between nearly degenerate, opposite-parity levels of atomic dysprosium (Dy) were monitored over an 8-month period to search for a variation in the fine-structure constant . During this time period, data were taken at different points in the gravitational potential of the Sun. The data are fitted to the variation in the gravitational potential yielding a value of for , the variation of in a changing gravitational potential. This value gives the first laboratory limit independent of assumptions regarding other fundamental constants. In addition, our value of combined with other experimental constraints is used to extract the first limits on and . These coefficients characterize the variation of and in a changing gravitational potential, where , , and are electron, proton, and quark masses. The results are and . All these results indicate the absence of significant variation at the present level of sensitivity.
- Received 15 August 2007
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.76.062104
©2007 American Physical Society