Evolution of the fine structure constant driven by dark matter and the cosmological constant

Keith A. Olive and Maxim Pospelov
Phys. Rev. D 65, 085044 – Published 9 April 2002
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Abstract

Bekenstein’s model of a scalar field φ that affects the electromagnetic permeability (usually identified with “changing α) predicts tiny variations of the effective fine structure constant up to very high redshifts, |α(z=3.5)/α01|<1010, when the constraints from Eötvös-Dicke-Braginsky types of experiments are imposed. We generalize this model by allowing additional couplings of φ to both a dark matter candidate and to the cosmological constant. We show that in a supersymmetric generalization of Bekenstein’s model, the coupling to the LSP, which is assumed to contribute significantly to the dark matter density, can be up to six orders of magnitude stronger than the coupling to the baryon energy density. This allows one to evade the present limits on the nonuniversality of the gravitational attraction due to φ exchange and at the same time accommodate the effective shift in α at the level of α(z=3.5)/α01105, reported recently from observations of quasar absorption spectra.

  • Received 31 October 2001

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.65.085044

©2002 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Keith A. Olive

  • Theoretical Physics Institute, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455

Maxim Pospelov

  • Theoretical Physics Institute, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455;
  • Physics Department, McGill University, 3600 University Street, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3A 2T8;
  • Département de Physique, Université du Québec à Montréal, C.P. 8888, Succ. Centre-Ville, Montréal, Québec, Canada H3C 3P8

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Vol. 65, Iss. 8 — 15 April 2002

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