Abstract
The formation of the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR) provides a very powerful probe of the early universe at the epoch of recombination. Specifically, it is possible to constrain the variation of fundamental physical constants in the early universe. We calculate the effect of a varying electromagnetic coupling constant on the CMBR and find that new satellite experiments should provide a tight constraint on the value of at recombination which is complementary to existing constraints. An estimate of the obtainable precision is in a realistic experiment.
- Received 23 September 1998
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.60.023515
©1999 American Physical Society