Varying Constants

Details Varying Constants Varying Constants

2003-06-05

arxiv.org/abs/gr-qc/0306023v1

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology

15 pages; talk given at the 10th international workshop on "Neutrino Telescopes", 11-14 March 2003 (Venice, Italy)

Scientific paper

We review some string-inspired theoretical models which incorporate a correlated spacetime variation of coupling constants while remaining naturally compatible both with phenomenological constraints coming from geochemical data (Oklo; Rhenium decay) and with present equivalence principle tests. Barring unnatural fine-tunings of parameters, a variation of the fine-structure constant as large as that recently ``observed'' by Webb et al. in quasar absorption spectra appears to be incompatible with these phenomenological constraints. Independently of any model, it is emphasized that the best experimental probe of varying constants are high-precision tests of the universality of free fall, such as MICROSCOPE and STEP. Recent claims by Bekenstein that fine-structure-constant variability does not imply detectable violations of the equivalence principle are shown to be untenable.

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