Search for a Variation of the Fine Structure Constant around the Supermassive Black Hole in Our Galactic Center.
Phys Rev Lett
; 124(8): 081101, 2020 Feb 28.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-32167338
ABSTRACT
Searching for space-time variations of the constants of Nature is a promising way to search for new physics beyond general relativity and the standard model motivated by unification theories and models of dark matter and dark energy. We propose a new way to search for a variation of the fine-structure constant using measurements of late-type evolved giant stars from the S star cluster orbiting the supermassive black hole in our Galactic Center. A measurement of the difference between distinct absorption lines (with different sensitivity to the fine structure constant) from a star leads to a direct estimate of a variation of the fine structure constant between the star's location and Earth. Using spectroscopic measurements of five stars, we obtain a constraint on the relative variation of the fine structure constant below 10^{-5}. This is the first time a varying constant of nature is searched for around a black hole and in a high gravitational potential. This analysis shows new ways the monitoring of stars in the Galactic Center can be used to probe fundamental physics.
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01-internacional
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MEDLINE
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Phys Rev Lett
Ano de publicação:
2020
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Article