Abstract
Astronomical constraints on a possible cosmologicalvariation of the proton-to-electron mass ratio μ=mp/me are discussed. The analysis of H2 lines observed in thespectra of distant quasars Q 0405-443 (zem=3.02) andQ 0347-383 (zem=3.22) is performed [1] using, partly, very precise values of H2 frequencies from new laboratorymeasurements [2] and sensitivity coefficients from newaccurate calculations [2,3]. A possibleμ-variation of Δμ/ μ= (2.0±0.6)×10-5over 12 Gyr is not excluded. However, the discussion of systematicerrors show that some may well be underestimated. Thus, the abovevalue should be treated as the most stringent limit the cosmologicalvariation of μ at z≈2.6 - 3.0 (12 Gyr ago).
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Ivanchik, A., Varshalovich, D. & Petitjean, P. Current status of astronomical observations on possible cosmological variations of the proton-to-electron mass ratio μ=mp/me . Eur. Phys. J. Spec. Top. 163, 191–196 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1140/epjst/e2008-00819-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1140/epjst/e2008-00819-3