dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaCalculations of the Relativistic Effects in Many-Electron Atoms and Space-Time Variation of Fundamental Constants
| Authors | V. A. Dzuba, V. V. Flambaum, J. K. Webb. |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | physics/9808021 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/9808021 |
| DOI | 10.1103/PhysRevA.59.230 |
| Journal | Phys.Rev.A59:230-237,1999 |
Abstract
Theories unifying gravity and other interactions suggest the possibility of spatial and temporal variation of physical ``constants'' in the Universe. Detection of high-redshift absorption systems intersecting the sight lines towards distant quasars provide a powerful tool for measuring these variations. We have previously demonstrated that high sensitivity to the variation of the fine structure constant $\alpha$ can be obtained by comparing spectra of heavy and light atoms (or molecules). Here we describe new calculations for a range of atoms and ions, most of which are commonly detected in quasar spectra: Fe II, Mg II, Mg I, C II, C IV, N~V, O I, Al III, Si II, Si IV, Ca I, Ca II, Cr II, Mn II, Zn II, Ge II (see the results in Table 3). The combination of Fe II and Mg II, for which accurate laboratory frequencies exist, have already been used to constrain $\alpha$ variations. To use other atoms and ions, accurate laboratory values of frequencies of the strong E1-transitions from the ground states are required. We wish to draw the attention of atomic experimentalists to this important problem. We also discuss a mechanism which can lead to a greatly enhanced sensitivity for placing constraints on variation on fundamental constants. Calculations have been performed for Hg II, Yb II, Ca I and Sr II where there are optical transitions with the very small natural widths, and for hyperfine transition in Cs I and Hg II.
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"abstract": "Theories unifying gravity and other interactions suggest the possibility of\nspatial and temporal variation of physical ``constants\u0027\u0027 in the Universe.\nDetection of high-redshift absorption systems intersecting the sight lines\ntowards distant quasars provide a powerful tool for measuring these variations.\nWe have previously demonstrated that high sensitivity to the variation of the\nfine structure constant $\\alpha$ can be obtained by comparing spectra of heavy\nand light atoms (or molecules). Here we describe new calculations for a range\nof atoms and ions, most of which are commonly detected in quasar spectra: Fe\nII, Mg II, Mg I, C II, C IV, N~V, O I, Al III, Si II, Si IV, Ca I, Ca II, Cr\nII, Mn II, Zn II, Ge II (see the results in Table 3). The combination of Fe II\nand Mg II, for which accurate laboratory frequencies exist, have already been\nused to constrain $\\alpha$ variations. To use other atoms and ions, accurate\nlaboratory values of frequencies of the strong E1-transitions from the ground\nstates are required. We wish to draw the attention of atomic experimentalists\nto this important problem.\n We also discuss a mechanism which can lead to a greatly enhanced sensitivity\nfor placing constraints on variation on fundamental constants. Calculations\nhave been performed for Hg II, Yb II, Ca I and Sr II where there are optical\ntransitions with the very small natural widths, and for hyperfine transition in\nCs I and Hg II.",
"arxiv_id": "physics/9808021",
"authors": [
"V. A. Dzuba",
"V. V. Flambaum",
"J. K. Webb."
],
"categories": [
"physics.atom-ph",
"astro-ph"
],
"doi": "10.1103/PhysRevA.59.230",
"journal_ref": "Phys.Rev.A59:230-237,1999",
"title": "Calculations of the Relativistic Effects in Many-Electron Atoms and Space-Time Variation of Fundamental Constants",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/9808021"
},
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