Material Size Dependence on Fundamental Constants

Precise experimental setups for detection of variation of fundamental constants, scalar dark matter, or gravitational waves, such as laser interferometers, optical cavities, and resonant-mass detectors, are directly linked to measuring changes in material size. Here we present calculated and experiment-derived estimates for both $\alpha$ and $\mu$ dependence of lattice constants and bond lengths of selected solid-state materials and diatomic molecules that are needed for interpretation of such experiments.

Figure 1

Dependence of the lattice constants $a_e$, $c_e$ (full and open circles, respectively) of bulk Ti on the relativistic parameter $x$. Slopes are shown to scale.

Figure 2

$Z$ scaling of $(d{a}_e/a_e)/(d\alpha /\alpha )$ for group 11 elements (note the log-log scale). Dashed line shows the ideal $Z^2$ fit.