Physics
Scientific paper
May 2004
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2004aps..dmp.n1001l&link_type=abstract
The 35th Meeting of the Division of Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics, May 25-29, 2004, Tuscon, AZ. MEETING ID: DAMOP04, ab
Physics
Scientific paper
Often, precision measurements from diverse fields can be used to learn new facts about the universe. The usual definition of "precision" is based on improvements over previous measurements. A review of the present state of knowledge regarding the possible time variation of the fine structure constant α will be presented; "precise" data from natural phenomena, which include an apparent shift in the red-shift-scaled fine structure in the absorption spectra of quasar light, and the isotopic abundances in the fission products of a prehistoric natural reactor in Oklo, Gabon. Prospects to improve the accuracy for the constancy of α with laboratory experiments will be discussed. Our two experimental investigations currently being developed are based on optical spectroscopy of trapped ions and on radiofrequency spectroscopy of an atomic dysprosium beam. A sensitivity of dotα/α≈ 10-18/yr is anticipated. Because this accuracy exceeds that by which the second is defined, these measurements will necessarily be differential.
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