COSMOVIA - Virtual Institute of Astroparticle Physics /IN THE NEWS /EVIDENCE FOR SPACIAL VARIATION OF THE STRUCTURE CONSTANT

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First article :
J. K. Webb, J. A. King, M. T. Murphy, V. V. Flambaum, R. F. Carswell, M. B. Bainbridge

Second article :
J. K. Webb, J. A. King, M. T. Murphy, V. V. Flambaum, R. F. Carswell, M. B. Bainbridge

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Evidence for spatial variation of the fine structure constant?

23 auguste 2010

We previously reported observations of quasar spectra from the Keck telescope...

We previously reported observations of quasar spectra from the Keck telescope suggesting a smaller value of the fine structure constant, alpha, at high redshift. A new sample of 153 measurements from the ESO Very Large Telescope (VLT), probing a different direction in the universe, also depends on redshift, but in the opposite sense, that is, alpha appears on average to be larger in the past. The combined dataset is well represented by a spatial dipole, significant at the 4.1 sigma level, in the direction right ascension 17.3 +/- 0.6 hours, declination -61 +/- 9 degrees. A detailed analysis for systematics, using observations duplicated at both telescopes, reveals none which are likely to emulate this result. \\ ( http://arxiv.org/abs/1008.3907 , 326kb)

Manifestations of a spatial variation of fundamental constants on atomic clocks, Oklo, meteorites, and cosmological phenomena

The remarkable detection of a spatial variation in the fine-structure constant, alpha, from quasar absorption systems must be independently confirmed by complementary searches. In this letter, we discuss how terrestrial measurements of time-variation of the fundamental constants in the laboratory, meteorite data, and analysis of the Oklo nuclear reactor can be used to corroborate the spatial variation seen by astronomers. Furthermore, we show that spatial variation of the fundamental constants may be observable as spatial anisotropy in the cosmic microwave background, the accelerated expansion (dark energy), and large-scale structure of the Universe. \\ ( http://arxiv.org/abs/1008.3957 , 12kb)