Constraints on a possible variation of the fine structure constant from galaxy cluster data
- Departamento de Física, Universidade Estadual da Paraíba, 58429-500, Campina Grande – PB (Brazil)
- Departamento de Física, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, and IFIBA, CONICET, Ciudad Universitaria – PabI, Buenos Aires 1428 (Argentina)
- Departamento de Astronomia, Observatório Nacional, 20921-400, Rio de Janeiro – RJ (Brazil)
We propose a new method to probe a possible time evolution of the fine structure constant α from X-ray and Sunyaev-Zel'dovich measurements of the gas mass fraction ( f {sub gas}) in galaxy clusters. Taking into account a direct relation between variations of α and violations of the distance-duality relation, we discuss constraints on α for a class of dilaton runaway models. Although not yet competitive with bounds from high- z quasar absorption systems, our constraints, considering a sample of 29 measurements of f {sub gas}, in the redshift interval 0.14 < z < 0.89, provide an independent estimate of α variation at low and intermediate redshifts. Furthermore, current and planned surveys will provide a larger amount of data and thus allow to improve the limits on α variation obtained in the present analysis.
- OSTI ID:
- 22667558
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, Journal Name: Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics Journal Issue: 05 Vol. 2016; ISSN 1475-7516
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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