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Most precise single redshift bound to the variability of the fine-structure constant

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 May 2006

S. A. Levshakov
Affiliation:
Ioffe Physico-Technical Institute, 194021 St. Petersburg, Russia
M. Centurión
Affiliation:
Osservatorio Astronomico di Trieste, Via G. B. Tiepolo 11, 34131 Trieste, Italy
P. Molaro
Affiliation:
Osservatorio Astronomico di Trieste, Via G. B. Tiepolo 11, 34131 Trieste, Italy Observatoire de Paris 61, avenue de l'Observatoire, 75014 Paris, France
S. D'Odorico
Affiliation:
European Southern Observatory, Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2, D-85748 Garching bei München, Germany
D. Reimers
Affiliation:
Hamburger Sternwarte, Gojenbergsweg 112, 21029 Hamburg, Germany
R. Quast
Affiliation:
Hamburger Sternwarte, Gojenbergsweg 112, 21029 Hamburg, Germany
M. Pollmann
Affiliation:
Hamburger Sternwarte, Gojenbergsweg 112, 21029 Hamburg, Germany
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Abstract

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Verification of theoretical predictions of an oscillating behavior of the fine-structure constant, $\alpha$, with cosmic time requires high precision measurements at individual redshifts, while in earlier studies the mean $\Delta\alpha/\alpha$ values averaged over wide redshift intervals were usually reported. This requirement can be met via the Single Ion Differential $\alpha$ Measurement (SIDAM) procedure. We apply SIDAM to the FeII lines associated with the damped Ly$\alpha$ system observed at $z = 1.15$ in the spectrum of HE0515–4414. The weighted mean calculated on the base of carefully selected 34 FeII pairs is $\langle \Delta\alpha/\alpha \rangle = (-0.07\,{\pm}\,0.84)\times10^{-6}$. The precision of this estimate represents a large improvement over previous measurements of $\Delta\alpha/\alpha$.

Type
Contributed Papers
Copyright
2006 International Astronomical Union