Video: Matt O'Dowd - Are the Fundamental Constants Changing? (15 mins)
PBS Space Time, Published on 28 Sep 2017
Written by Graeme Gossel and Matt O’Dowd
Hosted by Matt O'Dowd
Our Universe is governed by certain fundamental constants, such as the speed of light and the fine structure constant, but recent findings suggest that these constants might not be as stable as we assumed.
The laws of physics are the same everywhere in the universe. At least we astrophysicists hope so. After all, it’s hard to unravel the complexities of distant parts of the universe if we don’t know the basic rules. But what if this is wrong? There is a hint of evidence that the fundamental constants that govern our universe may evolve over time, and even from one location to another.
Webb et al. 1998, A Search for Time Variation of the Fine Structure Constant
https://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/9803165
Webb et al. 2011, A Search for Time Variation of the Fine Structure Constant
https://arxiv.org/abs/1008.3907
Martins & Pinho 2016, Stability of Fundamental Couplings: a Global Analysis
https://arxiv.org/abs/1701.08724