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Reconstructing the evolution of dark energy with variations of fundamental parameters

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 October 2010

N. J. Nunes ,
T. Dent ,
C. J. A. P. Martins  and
G. Robbers
N. J. Nunes
Affiliation:
Institut für Theoretische Physik, Philosophenweg 16, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
T. Dent
Affiliation:
School of Physics and Astronomy, Cardiff University, The Parade, Cardiff CF24 3AA, U. K.
C. J. A. P. Martins
Affiliation:
Centro de Astrofísica, Universidade do Porto, Rua das Estrelas, 4150-762 Porto, Portugal, and DAMTP, University of Cambridge, Wilberforce Road, Cambridge CB3 0WA, U. K.
G. Robbers
Affiliation:
Max-Planck-Institut für Astrophysik, Karl-Schwarzschild-Straße 1, D-85748 Garching bei München, Germany
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A popular candidate of dark energy, currently driving an accelerated expansion of the universe, is a slowly rolling scalar field or quintessence. A scalar field, however, must couple with other sources of matter. Consequently, its dynamical evolution can result in extra interactions between standard particles, which are mediated by the field, and to a variation in the fundamental parameters. Curiously, it has been reported that observations of a number of quasar absorption lines suggest that the fine structure constant was smaller in the past, at redshifts in the range z=1-3 (Murphy et al. (2003), Murphy et al. (2004), but see also Srianand et al. (2007)). Could this indeed be the signature of a slowly evolving scalar field?

Type
Contributed Papers
Information
Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union , Volume 5 , Highlights H15: Highlights of Astronomy , November 2009 , pp. 303
Copyright
Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2010

References

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