Testing the Stability of the Fine Structure Constant in the Laboratory

Abstract

In this review we discuss the progress of the past decade in testing for a possible temporal variation of the fine structure constant $\alpha$. Advances in atomic sample preparation, laser spectroscopy and optical frequency measurements led to rapid reduction of measurement uncertainties. Eventually laboratory tests became the most sensitive tool to detect a possible variation of $\alpha$ at the present epoch. We explain the methods and technologies that helped make this possible.

23 pages, 10 figures, The ISSI Workshop, 6-10 October 2008, on The Nature of Gravity "Confronting Theory and Experiment in Space"

References in corpus (29)

• Further Evidence for Cosmological Evolution of the Fine Structure Constant
• A laser frequency comb that enables radial velocity measurements with a precision of 1 cm s${}^{-1}$
• New Limits to the Drift of Fundamental Constants from Laboratory Measurements
• Runaway dilaton and equivalence principle violations
• An extrasolar planetary system with three Neptune-mass planets
• Compact, thermal-noise-limited optical cavity for diode laser stabilization at 1 x 10-15
• New Limits on Coupling of Fundamental Constants to Gravity Using ${}^{87}$Sr Optical Lattice Clocks
• Sub-Hz line width diode lasers by stabilization to vibrationally and thermally compensated ULE Fabry-Perot cavities
• A Search for Variations of Fundamental Constants using Atomic Fountain Clocks
• New limit on the present temporal variation of the fine structure constant
• Testing the stability of fundamental constants with the 199Hg+ single-ion optical clock
• Cold atom Clocks and Applications
• Probing the cosmological variation of the fine-structure constant: Results based on VLT-UVES sample
• The Cosmological Evolution of the Nucleon Mass and the Electroweak Coupling Constants
• Stopping supersonic oxygen with a series of pulsed electromagnetic coils: A molecular coilgun
• Probing the variability of the fine-structure constant with the VLT/UVES
• Symmetry Breaking and Time Variation of Gauge Couplings
• Revision of VLT/UVES constraints on a varying fine-structure constant
• Limit on the Temporal Variation of the Fine-Structure Constant Using Atomic Dysprosium
• Variation of fundamental constants: theory and observations
• High-Precision Optical Measurement of the 2S Hyperfine Interval in Atomic Hydrogen
• Absolute frequency measurement of an SF6 two-photon line using a femtosecond optical comb and sum-frequency generation
• Hyperfine structure in hydrogen and helium ion
• Investigation of the Gravitational Potential Dependence of the Fine-Structure Constant Using Atomic Dysprosium
• Hyperfine Structure of the Ground and First Excited States in Light Hydrogen-Like Atoms and High-Precision Tests of QED
• 2S hyperfine structure of atomic deuterium
• How changing physical constants and violation of local position invariance may occur?
• Laboratory Limits on Temporal Variations of Fundamental Constants: An Update
• Fabry-Perot temperature dependence and surface-mounted optical cavities

Cited by in corpus (4)

• Peripheral, ultrarelativistic production of particles in heavy ion collisions
• Current Status of LHC Physics: Precision Theory View
• Monte Carlo study of NLO correction to QCD evolution kernel induced by the change of the factorization scale
• Monte-Carlo simulation for the frequency comb spectrum of an atom laser