From Varying Couplings to Fundamental Physics Proceedings of Symposi
Nature is characterized by a number of physical laws and fundamental dimensionless couplings. These determine the properties of our physical universe, from the size of atoms, cells and mountains to the ultimate fate of the universe as a whole. Yet i
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From Varying Couplings to Fundamental Physics Proceedings of Symposium 1 of JENAM 2010 Editors Carlos Martins Paolo Molaro
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Editors Carlos Martins Centro de Astrofisica Universidade do Porto Rua das Estrelas 4150-762 Porto Portugal [email protected]
Paolo Molaro INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Trieste Via G.B. Tiepolo 11 34131 Trieste Italy [email protected]
ISSN 1570-6591 e-ISSN 1570-6605 ISBN 978-3-642-19396-5 e-ISBN 978-3-642-19397-2 DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-19397-2 Springer Heidelberg Dordrecht London New York Library of Congress Control Number: 2011928713 c Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2011 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilm or in any other way, and storage in data banks. Duplication of this publication or parts thereof is permitted only under the provisions of the German Copyright Law of September 9, 1965, in its current version, and permission for use must always be obtained from Springer. Violations are liable to prosecution under the German Copyright Law. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. Cover design: eStudio Calamar S.L. Printed on acid-free paper Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com)
Preface
The concept that fundamental physical constants can change over time dates back to the late 1930s and has been a very fertile idea in several branches of theoretical physics so far. More recently it also evolved into a branch of observational astronomy. At present the detection of the smallest variations of coupling constants throughout the universal space-time is seen as an effective way to reveal the presence of light scalar fields foreseen in many cosmological and elementary particle theories. The JENAM symposium entitled From Varying Couplings to Fundamental Physics, convened in Lisbon on the 6th and 7th September 2010, was the second JENAM symposium on this topic. Both symposia were held in Portugal. The first took place in Porto in 2002, and was one of the first in this field of research. To our knowledge the very first one was the discussion meeting on The constants of physics held on 25 and 26 May 1983 at the Royal Society and organized by William Hunter McCrea, Martin Rees, and Steven Weinberg. Most of the presentations in those early days were theoretical, though in the 2002 JENAM first indications for ˛ variation were presented by J.K. Webb and collaborators. At JENAM 2010 the majority of the talks were observational, reflecting the evolution of the field which also developed an active experimental character. Actually, the JENAM 2010 symposium occurre
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