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Register a new userProbing fundamental constant evolution with neutral atomic gas lines
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N. Kanekar
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We have detected narrow HI 21cm and CI absorption at $z sim 1.4 - 1.6$ towards Q0458$-$020 and Q2337$-$011, and use these lines to test for possible changes in the fine structure constant $alpha$, the proton-electron mass ratio $mu$, and the proton gyromagnetic ratio $g_p$. A comparison between the HI 21cm and CI line redshifts yields $Delta X/X = [+6.8 pm 1.0] times 10^{-6}$ over $0 < <z> le 1.46$, where $X = g_p alpha^2/mu$, and the errors are purely statistical, from the gaussian fits. The simple line profiles and the high sensitivity of the spectra imply that statistical errors in this comparison are an order of magnitude lower than in previous studies. Further, the CI lines arise in cold neutral gas that also gives rise to HI 21cm absorption, and both background quasars are core-dominated, reducing the likelihood of systematic errors due to local velocity offsets between the hyperfine and resonance lines. The dominant source of systematic error lies in the absolute wavelength calibration of the optical spectra, which appears uncertain to $sim 2$ km/s, yielding a maximum error in $Delta X/X$ of $sim 6.7 times 10^{-6}$. Including this, we obtain $Delta X/X = [+6.8 pm 1.0 (statistical) pm 6.7 (max. systematic)] times 10^{-6}$ over $0 < <z> le 1.46$. Using literature constraints on $Delta mu/mu$, this is inconsistent with claims of a smaller value of $alpha$ from the many-multiplet method, unless fractional changes in $g_p$ are larger than those in $alpha$ and $mu$.
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We report Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope and Arecibo Telescope observations of the redshifted satellite OH-18cm lines at $z sim 0.247$ towards PKS1413+135. The conjugate nature of these lines, with one line in emission and the other in absorption, but with the same shape, implies that the lines arise in the same gas. The satellite OH-18cm line frequencies also have different dependences on the fine structure constant $alpha$, the proton-electron mass ratio $mu = m_p/m_e$, and the proton gyromagnetic ratio $g_p$. Comparisons between the satellite line redshifts in conjugate systems can hence be used to probe changes in $alpha$, $mu$, and $g_p$, with few systematic effects. The technique yields the expected null result when applied to Cen.A, a nearby conjugate satellite system. For the $z sim 0.247$ system towards PKS1413+135, we find, on combining results from the two telescopes, that $[Delta G/G] = (-1.18 pm 0.46) times 10^{-5}$ (weighted mean), where $G = g_p [mu alpha^2]^{1.85}$; this is tentative evidence (with $2.6 sigma$ significance, or at 99.1% confidence) for a smaller value of $alpha$, $mu$, and/or $g_p$ at z~0.247, i.e. at a lookback time of ~2.9 Gyrs. If we assume that the dominant change is in $alpha$, this implies $[Delta alpha /alpha ] = (-3.1 pm 1.2) times 10^{-6}$. We find no evidence that the observed offset might be produced by systematic effects, either due to observational or analysis procedures, or local conditions in the molecular cloud.
We have used the Arecibo Telescope to carry out one of the deepest-ever integrations in radio astronomy, targetting the redshifted conjugate satellite OH 18 cm lines at $z approx 0.247$ towards PKS1413+135. The satellite OH 1720 and 1612 MHz lines are respectively in emission and absorption, with exactly the same line shapes due to population inversion in the OH ground state levels. Since the 1720 and 1612 MHz line rest frequencies have different dependences on the fine structure constant $alpha$ and the proton-electron mass ratio $mu$, a comparison between their measured redshifts allows one to probe changes in $alpha$ and $mu$ with cosmological time. In the case of conjugate satellite OH 18 cm lines, the predicted perfect cancellation of the sum of the line optical depths provides a strong test for the presence of systematic effects that might limit their use in probing fundamental constant evolution. A non-parametric analysis of our new Arecibo data yields $left[Delta X/X right] = (+0.97 pm 1.52) times 10^{-6}$, where $X equiv mu alpha^2$. Combining this with our earlier results from the Arecibo Telescope and the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope, we obtain $left[Delta X/X right] = (-1.0 pm 1.3) times 10^{-6}$, consistent with no changes in the quantity $mu alpha^2$ over the last 2.9~Gyr. This is the most stringent present constraint on fractional changes in $mu alpha^2$ from astronomical spectroscopy, and with no evidence for systematic effects.
A new bound dark energy, BDE, cosmology has been proposed where the dark energy is the binding energy between light meson fields that condense a few tens of years after the big bang. It is reported that the correct dark energy density emerges using particle physics without fine tuning. This alone makes the BDE cosmology worthy of further investigation. This work looks at the late time BDE predictions of the evolution of cosmological parameters and the values of fundamental constants to determine whether the cosmologys predictions are consistent with observation. The work considers the time period between a scale factor of 0.1 and 1.0. A model BDE cosmology is considered with current day values of the cosmological parameters well within the observational limits. The calculations use three different values of the current day dark energy equation of state close to minus one. All three cases produce evolutions of the cosmological parameters and fundamental constants consistent with the observational constraints. Analytic relations between the BDE and cosmological parameters are developed to insure a consistent set of parameters.
We measure the neutral atomic hydrogen (HI) gas content of field galaxies at intermediate redshifts of z ~ 0.1 and z ~ 0.2 using hydrogen 21-cm emission lines observed with the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT). In order to make high signal-to-noise ratio detections, an HI signal stacking technique is applied: HI emission spectra from multiple galaxies, optically selected by the CNOC2 redshift survey project, are co-added to measure the average HI mass of galaxies in the two redshift bins. We calculate the cosmic HI gas densities ({Omega}_{HI}) at the two redshift regimes and compare those with measurements at other redshifts to investigate the global evolution of the HI gas density over cosmic time. From a total of 59 galaxies at z ~ 0.1 we find {Omega}_{HI} = (0.33 $pm$ 0.05) ~ $times$ 10$^{-3}$, and at z ~ 0.2 we find {Omega}_{HI} = (0.34 $pm$ 0.09) ~ $times$ 10$^{-3}$, based on 96 galaxies. These measurements help bridge the gap between high-z damped Lyman-$alpha$ observations and blind 21-cm surveys at $z=$ 0. We find that our measurements of {Omega}_{HI} at z ~ 0.1 and 0.2 are consistent with the HI gas density at z ~ 0 and that all measurements of {Omega}_{HI} from 21-cm emission observations at $z la$ ~ 0.2 are in agreement with no evolution of the HI gas content in galaxies during the last 2.4 Gyr.
We present VLA H I imaging data for a field in the NW of the galaxy cluster Abell 1367 (z = 0.02) in an attempt to probe the effect environment has on the interstellar medium of late-type spiral galaxies. Several galaxies show pronounced tails and asymmetries, and 7 out of 10 show significant, several kpc offsets between the HI centroid and the optical. We compare our results against a sample of optically bright, late-type galaxies (spirals) across the central 1.5 Mpc of the cluster taken from the Arecibo Galaxy Environment Survey (AGES). We calculate the H I deficiency and find that the expected global trend for the H I deficiency of these spirals to increase with projected proximity to the cluster core, seen in clusters like Coma and Virgo, is not observed. We classified the spirals into four evolutionary states, with the galaxies in each state sharing a similar degree of H I deficiency and optical colour. The common characteristics of the spirals in each evolutionary state suggests they have been subject to similar environmental processes. Many of the spirals in the most common evolutionary state (moderate H I deficiency and blue colour) have an H I intensity maximum which is displaced relative to its optical counterpart. The orientation of these offsets and magnitude of their H I deficiencies together with data from other wavelengths provide observational evidence in support of varying degrees of ram pressure stripping and tidal interaction. In general, our results indicate that the H I disks of bright late-type galaxies in the central part of the cluster are subject to both gas loss and morphological disturbance as a result of their interaction with the cluster environment. This provides further observational evidence of a more complex environment in Abell 1367 as compared to Virgo and Coma.
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