Astronomical Constraints on the Cosmic Evolution of the Fine Structure Constant and Possible Quantum Dimensions

C. L. Carilli, K. M. Menten, J. T. Stocke, E. Perlman, R. Vermeulen, F. Briggs, A. G. de Bruyn, J. Conway, and C. P. Moore
Phys. Rev. Lett. 85, 5511 – Published 25 December 2000; Erratum Phys. Rev. Lett. 86, 1910 (2001)
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Abstract

We present measurements of absorption by the 21 cm hyperfine transition of neutral hydrogen toward radio sources at substantial look-back times. These data are used in combination with observations of rotational transitions of common interstellar molecules to set limits on the evolution of the fine structure constant: α̇α<3.5×1015yr1, to a look-back time of 4.8 Gyr. In the context of string theory, the limit on the secular evolution of the scale factor of the compact dimensions, R, is ṘR<1015yr1. Including terrestrial and other astronomical measurements places 2σ limits on slow oscillations of R from the present to the epoch of cosmic nucleosynthesis, just seconds after the big bang, of ΔRR<105.

  • Received 18 July 2000

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.85.5511

©2000 American Physical Society

Erratum

Erratum: Astronomical Constraints on the Cosmic Evolution of the Fine Structure Constant and Possible Quantum Dimensions [Phys. Rev. Lett. 85, 5511 (2000)]

C. L. Carilli, K. M. Menten, J. T. Stocke, E. Perlman, R. Vermeulen, F. Briggs, A. G. de Bruyn, J. Conway, and C. P. Moore
Phys. Rev. Lett. 86, 1910 (2001)

Authors & Affiliations

C. L. Carilli1, K. M. Menten2, J. T. Stocke3, E. Perlman4, R. Vermeulen5, F. Briggs6, A. G. de Bruyn5,6, J. Conway7, and C. P. Moore8

  • 1National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Socorro, New Mexico 87801
  • 2Max-Planck-Institute für Radioastronomie, Auf dem Hügel 69, D-53121, Bonn, Germany
  • 3University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado
  • 4Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Maryland
  • 5Netherlands Foundation for Research in Astronomy,, Dwingeloo, The Netherlands
  • 6Kapteyn Research Institute, Groningen, The Netherlands
  • 7Onsala Space Observatory, Onsala, Sweden
  • 8Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138

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Vol. 85, Iss. 26 — 25 December 2000

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