Comment on “Limits on the Time Variation of the Electromagnetic Fine-Structure Constant in the Low Energy Limit from Absorption Lines in the Spectra of Distant Quasars”

A Comment on the Letter by R. Srianand et al., [Phys. Rev. Lett. 92, 121302 (2004)]. The authors of the Letter offer a Reply.

Figure 1

Example ${\chi }^2$ curves from our minimization (circles) and that of 1 (triangles). Fluctuations in the latter indicate failings in the minimization. Points and error bars indicate best-fitting values and $1\mathrm{\text{−}}\sigma$ uncertainties; for our curves $\Delta \alpha /\alpha$ was a free parameter. Note the different vertical scales: left-hand scales for our curves, right-hand scales for 1.