Early universe constraints on time variation of fundamental constants

2008/09/11 by Susana J. Landau, Mercedes E. Mosquera, M. E. Mosquera +4 · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #Black Holes and Theoretical Physics #Cosmology and Gravitation Theories #Dark Matter and Cosmic Phenomena #astro-ph

paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevd.78.083527

published as Phys.Rev.D78:083527,2008 · 18 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication in Physical Review D

arxiv created 2008/09/11 · openalex publication_date 2008/10/20 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28

Abstract

We study the time variation of fundamental constants in the early Universe. Using data from primordial light nuclei abundances, cosmic microwave background, and the 2dFGRS power spectrum, we put constraints on the time variation of the fine structure constant \ensuremathα and the Higgs vacuum expectation value ⟨v⟩ without assuming any theoretical framework. A variation in ⟨v⟩ leads to a variation in the electron mass, among other effects. Along the same line, we study the variation of \ensuremathα and the electron mass m_e. In a purely phenomenological fashion, we derive a relationship between both variations.

Citations

• Behavior of varying-alpha cosmologies
• Nucleosynthesis and the time dependence of fundamental couplings
• New BBN limits on physics beyond the standard model from 4He
• Time variation of the fine structure constant in the early universe and the Bekenstein model
• Looking for a varying α in the cosmic microwave background

Cited by

• The clustering of galaxies in the SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey: constraints on the time variation of fundamental constants from the large-scale two-point correlation function