The Oklo bound on the time variation of the fine-structure constant revisited

Abstract

It has been pointed out by Shlyakhter that data from the natural fission reactors which operated about two billion years ago at Oklo (Gabon) had the potential of providing an extremely tight bound on the variability of the fine-structure constant alpha. We revisit the derivation of such a bound by: (i) reanalyzing a large selection of published rare-earth data from Oklo, (ii) critically taking into account the very large uncertainty of the temperature at which the reactors operated, and (iii) connecting in a new way (using isotope shift measurements) the Oklo-derived constraint on a possible shift of thermal neutron-capture resonances with a bound on the time variation of alpha. Our final (95% C.L.) results are: -0.9 \times 10^{-7} <(alpha^{Oklo} - alpha^{now})/alpha <1.2\times 10^{-7} and -6.7 \times 10^{-17} {yr}^{-1} < {\dot alpha}^{averaged}/alpha <5.0\times10^{-17} {yr}^{-1}$.

23 pages, Latex, submitted to Nucl.Phys.B

References in corpus (4)

• The String Dilaton and a Least Coupling Principle
• String theory and gravity
• Astrophysical Limits on the Evolution of Dimensionless Physical Constants over Cosmological Time
• Direct Test of the Time-Independence of Fundamental Nuclear Constants Using the Oklo Natural Reactor

Cited by in corpus (224)

• The Confrontation between General Relativity and Experiment
• Chameleon Cosmology
• The Confrontation between General Relativity and Experiment
• Quintessence and the Rest of the World
• The fundamental constants and their variation: observational status and theoretical motivations
• Reconstruction of a scalar-tensor theory of gravity in an accelerating universe
• Further Evidence for Cosmological Evolution of the Fine Structure Constant
• A Search for Time Variation of the Fine Structure Constant
• Varying constants, Gravitation and Cosmology
• The Confrontation between General Relativity and Experiment
• Further evidence for a variable fine-structure constant from Keck/HIRES QSO absorption spectra
• Primordial Nucleosynthesis: from precision cosmology to fundamental physics
• Dark Energy from Mass Varying Neutrinos
• Violations of the equivalence principle in a dilaton-runaway scenario
• New BBN limits on Physics Beyond the Standard Model from He4
• Runaway dilaton and equivalence principle violations
• Possible evidence for a variable fine structure constant from QSO absorption lines: motivations, analysis and results
• Environmental Dependence of Masses and Coupling Constants
• A Simple Varying-alpha Cosmology
• Cosmologies with Varying Light-Speed
• A Search for Variations of Fundamental Constants using Atomic Fountain Clocks
• Scalar-Tensor Gravity and Quintessence
• Equivalence Principle Violations and Couplings of a Light Dilaton
• New limit on the present temporal variation of the fine structure constant
• New varying speed of light theories
• Testing the stability of fundamental constants with the 199Hg+ single-ion optical clock
• Cold atom Clocks and Applications
• Stability of the proton-to-electron mass ratio
• Spacetime-varying couplings and Lorentz violation
• Varying Alpha in a More Realistic Universe
• The nuclear interaction at Oklo 2 billion years ago
• Implications of Gauge Unification for Time Variation of the Fine Structure Constant
• Changing alpha With Time: Implications For Fifth-Force-Type Experiments And Quintessence
• Evolution of the Fine Structure Constant Driven by Dark Matter and the Cosmological Constant
• The Cosmic Microwave Background and Particle Physics
• Varying-$\alpha$ Theories and Solutions to the Cosmological Problems
• Constraints on the Variations of the Fundamental Couplings
• Limits on the temporal variation of the fine structure constant, quark masses and strong interaction from quasar absorption spectra and atomic clock experiments
• Local and Global Variations of The Fine Structure Constant
• Exploring Cosmic Origins with CORE: Cosmological Parameters
• Early-universe constraints on a time-varying fine structure constant
• Quintessence and Gravitational Waves
• Constraints on the Variation of the Fine Structure Constant from Big Bang Nucleosynthesis
• Constraining Variations in the Fine-Structure Constant with the Cosmic Microwave Background
• Variation of Fundamental Couplings and Nuclear Forces
• Natural Nuclear Reactor Oklo and Variation of Fundamental Constants Part 1: Computation of Neutronics of Fresh Core
• Cosmological acceleration, varying couplings, and Lorentz breaking
• Symmetry Breaking and Time Variation of Gauge Couplings
• SUSY QCD and Quintessence
• $f(T)$ Theories and Varying Fine Structure Constant
• Constraints on changes in fundamental constants from a cosmologically distant OH absorber/emitter
• Experimental Tests of General Relativity: Recent Progress and Future Directions
• Is there Correlation between Fine Structure and Dark Energy Cosmic Dipoles?
• Looking for a varying $\alpha$ in the Cosmic Microwave Background
• Possible Constraints on the Time Variation of the Fine Structure Constant from Cosmic Microwave Background Data
• Cosmic concordance and the fine structure constant
• Models of quintessence coupled to the electromagnetic field and the cosmological evolution of alpha
• A Re-examination of the ${}^{187}$Re Bound on the Variation of Fundamental Couplings
• Geometrodynamics of Variable-Speed-of-Light Cosmologies
• Time Variation of the Fine Structure Constant Driven by Quintessence
• Limits on Cosmological Variation of Strong Interaction and Quark Masses from Big Bang Nucleosynthesis, Cosmic, Laboratory and Oklo Data
• Was Einstein Right? Testing Relativity at the Centenary
• Measuring the metric: a parametrized post-Friedmanian approach to the cosmic dark energy problem
• Probing Quintessence with Time Variation of Couplings
• Limit on the Temporal Variation of the Fine-Structure Constant Using Atomic Dysprosium
• Crossover quintessence and cosmological history of fundamental "constants"
• Time-variability of alpha from realistic models of Oklo reactors
• Reconstructing the dark energy equation of state with varying alpha
• Neutron Moderation in the Oklo Natural Reactor and the Time Variation of alpha
• Atomic optical clocks and search for variation of the fine structure constant
• A clock transition for a future optical frequency standard with trapped atoms
• Breaking of the equivalence principle in the electromagnetic sector and its cosmological signatures
• Mapping the Dark Energy with Varying Alpha
• Cosmological constant vs. quintessence
• Dependence of hadronic properties on Quark Masses and Constraints on their Cosmological Variation
• Enhanced effect of quark mass variation in 229Th and limits from Oklo data
• Questioning the Equivalence Principle
• Measuring the stability of fundamental constants with a network of clocks
• Quintessence Models and the Cosmological Evolution of alpha
• An Observational Determination of the Proton to Electron Mass Ratio in the Early Universe
• A Generalized Theory of Varying Alpha
• Matter Non-conservation in the Universe and Dynamical Dark Energy
• A Cosmological Tale of Two Varying Constants
• Measuring $\alpha$ in the Early Universe: CMB Temperature, Large-Scale Structure and Fisher Matrix Analysis
• Can a changing $\alpha$ explain the Supernovae results?
• Scalar-tensor theories with pseudoscalar couplings
• General Dynamics of Varying-Alpha Universes
• Late-time cosmology of scalar-tensor theories with universal multiplicative coupling between the scalar field and the matter Lagrangian
• Manifestations of a spatial variation of fundamental constants on atomic clocks, Oklo, meteorites, and cosmological phenomena
• Gauge-Invariant Perturbations of Varying-Alpha Cosmologies
• Planck intermediate results. XXIV. Constraints on variation of fundamental constants
• Varying Constants
• Non-universal scalar-tensor theories and big bang nucleosynthesis
• Towards a sensitive search for variation of the fine structure constant using radio-frequency E1 transitions in atomic dysprosium
• Primordial Nucleosynthesis with varying fundamental constants: A semi-analytical approach
• Time Variations in the Scale of Grand Unification
• Feynman-Weinberg Quantum Gravity and the Extended Standard Model as a Theory of Everything
• Re/Os constraint on the time-variability of the fine-structure constant
• Electroweak Baryogenesis from Temperature-Varying Couplings
• Investigation of the Gravitational Potential Dependence of the Fine-Structure Constant Using Atomic Dysprosium
• Constraining non standard recombination: A worked example
• A new era of fine structure constant measurements at high redshift
• The variation of the gravitational constant inferred from the Hubble diagram of Type Ia supernovae
• VSL theories and the Doppler peak
• Sensitivity of Nuclear Transition Frequencies to Temporal Variation of the Fine Structure Constant or the Strong Interaction
• A constraint on a varying proton--electron mass ratio 1.5 billion years after the Big Bang
• Limits on cosmological variation of quark masses and strong interaction
• Cosmology with Varying Constants
• Cosmology with Varying Constants
• Conjugate 18cm OH Satellite Lines at a Cosmological Distance
• Spatial Variations of Fundamental Constants
• Charge conservation and time-varying speed of light
• Early Universe Constraints on Time Variation of Fundamental Constants
• Testing theories that predict time variation of fundamental constants
• A two-scalar model for a small but nonzero cosmological constant
• Robert Dicke and the naissance of experimental gravity physics, 1957-1967
• Multidimensional cosmological models: cosmological and astrophysical implications and constraints
• Time variation of proton-electron mass ratio and fine structure constant with runaway dilaton
• String theory, cosmology and varying constants
• Does the Fine Structure Constant Really Vary in Time?
• Varying-Alpha Cosmologies with Potentials
• Cosmological evolution of Alpha driven by a general coupling with Quintessence
• The Fine-structure Constant as a Probe of Chemical Evolution and AGB Nucleosynthesis in Damped Lyman-alpha Systems
• Testing the violation of the equivalence principle in the electromagnetic sector and its consequences in $f(T)$ gravity
• Quantum Harmonic Analysis of the Density Matrix
• Bekenstein model and the time variation of the strong coupling constant
• Variation of fundamental constants in space and time: theory and observations
• Composition-dependent long range forces from varying m_p/m_e
• Experimental Tests of Relativistic Gravity
• Varying Alpha
• Fundamental constants and cosmic vacuum: the micro and macro connection
• Searching for deviations from the General Relativity Theory with gas mass fraction of galaxy clusters and complementary probes
• Constraints on time variation of fine structure constant from WMAP-3yr data
• Variation in the fine-structure constant, distance-duality relation and the next generation of high-resolution spectrograph
• Can we test Dark Energy with Running Fundamental Constants ?
• A note on dynamical stabilization of internal spaces in multidimensional cosmology
• Galaxy clusters and a possible variation of the fine structure constant
• Proposal for a New Test of the Time Independence Of The Fine Structure Constant, alpha, Using Orthogonally Polarised Whispering Gallery Modes in a Single Sapphire Resonator
• Constraints on a possible variation of the fine structure constant from galaxy cluster data
• A dS obstruction and its phenomenological consequences
• Time Evolution of the Fine Structure Constant in a Two-Field Quintessence Model
• Galaxy clusters, type Ia supernovae and the fine structure constant
• Possible variations of the fine structure constant $\alpha$ and their metrological significance
• Probing spatial variation of the fine-structure constant using the CMB
• Cosmological Variation of the Fine Structure Constant from an Ultra-Light Scalar Field: The Effects of Mass
• Varying alpha, thresholds and extra dimensions
• Time variation of the fine structure constant in the early universe and the Bekenstein model
• An orbital window into the ancient Sun's mass
• Fundamental constants and tests of general relativity - Theoretical and cosmological considerations
• Enhanced Sensitivity to the Time Variation of the Fine-Structure Constant and $m_p/m_e$ in Diatomic Molecules: A Closer Examination of Silicon Monobromide
• Time-variability of the fine-structure constant expected from the Oklo constraint and the QSO absorption lines
• Global Representation of the Fine Structure Constant and its Variation
• Recent results in nuclear astrophysics
• The Equivalence Principle and the Constants of Nature
• Implications of a dilaton in gauge theory and cosmology
• Varying Alpha Driven by the Dirac-Born-Infeld Scalar Field
• A five dimensional model of varying effective gravitational and fine structure constants
• Probing variation of the fine-structure constant in runaway dilaton models using Strong Gravitational Lensing and Type Ia Supernovae
• Competing bounds on the present-day time variation of fundamental constants
• Can galaxy clusters, type Ia supernovae and cosmic microwave background rule out a class of modified gravity theories?
• Time Variation of Fundamental Constants as a Probe of New Physics
• An Entropy-Weighted Sum over Non-Perturbative Vacua
• Mixed Quantum States with Variable Planck Constant
• Reappraisal of the limit on the variation in $\alpha$ implied by Oklo
• Oklo reactors and implications for nuclear science
• Fine Structure Constant Variation from a Late Phase Transition
• Possible Evidence of Time Variation of Weak Interaction Constant from Double Beta Decay Experiments
• Photoassociation of ultracold molecules near a Feshbach resonance as a probe of the electron-proton mass ratio variation
• Probing the time variation of fine structure constant using galaxy clusters and quintessence model
• Hunting dark energy with pressure-dependent photon-photon scattering
• Varying Fine-Structure Constant and the Cosmological Constant Problem
• Investigation of the fundamental constants stability based on the reactor Oklo burn-up analysis
• 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
• Variations of nuclear binding with quark masses
• A possible new interpretation of the results of $\Delta \alpha /\alpha$ from QSO absorption lines
• Quintessence and variation of the fine structure constant in the CMBR
• On the cosmological variation of the fine structure constant
• Possible link between the changing fine-structure constant and the accelerating universe via scalar-tensor theory
• Variation of the fine-structure constant: an update of statistical analyses with recent data
• Observable interactions of quintessence with ordinary matter and neutrinos
• Possible time-variability of the fine-structure constant expected from the accelerating universe
• Limits on the Time Variation of the Fermi Constant G_F Based on Type Ia Supernova Observations
• Antisymmetric-Tensor and Electromagnetic effects in an alpha'-non-perturbative Four-Dimensional String Cosmology
• Detecting Ultralight Dark Matter with Matter Effect
• Collisional perturbation of radio-frequency E1 transitions in an atomic beam of dysprosium
• The Fundamental Constants in Physics and their Time Dependence
• Speed of light in the extended gravity theories
• Improved constraints on violations of the Einstein equivalence principle in the electromagnetic sector with complementary cosmic probes
• Geometry and Matter Reduction in a 5D Kaluza-Klein Framework
• Time varying $\alpha$ in N=8 extended Supergravity
• Non-parametric reconstruction of the fine structure constant with galaxy clusters
• Space-time variation of the s and c quark masses
• The variation of the electromagnetic coupling and quintessence
• Constraining $f(R)$ Theories with Temporal Variation of Fine Structure Constant
• Spatial and temporal variations of the fine-structure constant in the Finslerian universe
• Testing cosmological supersymmetry breaking
• Spatial variation of fundamental constants: testing models with thermonuclear supernovae
• Variation of fundamental constants and white dwarfs
• Revised fits to $\Delta \alpha /\alpha$ in consistency with the accelerating universe
• Restrictions on dilatonic brane-world models
• Magnetic contributions in Bekenstein type models
• Temporal variation of coupling constants and nucleosynthesis
• The time variation of the fine structure constant: A statistical analysis of astronomical data
• Lutetium thermometry for Oklo natural reactors: a new look at old data
• Estimations of the cosmological parameters from the observational variation of the fine structure constant
• Hitchhiker's Guide to the Swampland: The Cosmologist's Handbook to the string-theoretical Swampland Programme
• Space-time variation of the electron-to-proton mass ratio in a Weyl model
• Implications of the Oklo phenomenon in a chiral approach to nuclear matter
• Variation of the Fine-Structure Constant from the de Sitter Invariant Special Relativity
• Variations of the Fine Structure Constant in Space and Time
• The electromagnetic coupling and the dark side of the Universe
• Symmetry Breaking and Time Variation of the QCD Coupling
• Search for Variations of Fundamental Constants
• Variation of the fine structure constant in QSO spectra from coherent dark matter oscillations
• Quintessence, Supersymmetry and Inflation
• Robust laboratory limits on a cosmological spatial gradient in the electromagnetic fine-structure constant from accelerometer experiments
• Gamma-ray fluxes in Oklo natural reactors
• New constraints on the values of the fundamental constants at a look-back time of 7.3 Gyr
• Constraints on the Variation of the QCD Interaction Scale ${\Lambda }_{\text{QCD}}$
• A Mathematica Program Using Isotropic Harmonic Oscillator Eigenstates to Model Alpha-Particle Tunneling Half Life Variability
• Cosmological solutions of Tensor-Vector theories of gravity with varying the space-time-matter coupling constant
• A Time Variation of the QCD Coupling Constant
• Does the QCD Scale vary in time?
• A Mathematica Notebook for Alpha Decay Using an Exponentially Diffuse Boundary Potential