| Issue |
A&A
Volume 542, June 2012
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Article Number | A118 | |
| Number of page(s) | 4 | |
| Section | Cosmology (including clusters of galaxies) | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201219286 | |
| Published online | 19 June 2012 | |
Research Note
Is there a spatial gradient in values of the fine-structure constant? A reanalysis of the results
School of Physics, University of New South Wales, NSW, 2052 Sydney, Australia
e-mail: jcb@phys.unsw.edu.au
Received: 27 March 2012
Accepted: 18 May 2012
We statistically analyse a recent sample of data points measuring the fine-structure constant α (relative to the terrestrial value) in quasar absorption systems, where a spatial gradient in α was recently reported. We find agreement with previous authors that the dipole model is a robust, well-justified fit to the data. Using a simple analysis we find that the monopole term (the constant offset in Δα/α) may be caused by non-terrestrial magnesium isotope abundances in the absorbers. Finally we test the domain-wall model against the data.
Key words: cosmology: theory / methods: statistical / large-scale structure of Universe / cosmology: miscellaneous
© ESO, 2012
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