Abstract
The tests of the constancy of the fundamental constants are tests of the local position invariance and thus of the equivalence principle. We summarize the various constraints that have been obtained and then describe the connection between varying constants and extensions of general relativity. To finish, we discuss the link with cosmology, and more particularly with the acceleration of the Universe. We take the opportunity to summarize various possibilities to test general relativity (but also the Copernican principle) on cosmological scales.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
L. Amendola, M. Kunz, D. Sapone, J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys. 04, 013 (2008)
L. Bergström, S. Iguri, H. Rubinstein, Phys. Rev. D 60, 045005 (1999)
R. Caldwell, A. Stebbins, Phys. Rev. Lett. 100, 191302 (2008)
B.A. Campbell, K.A. Olive, Phys. Lett. B 345, 429 (1995)
T. Chiba, T. Nakamura, Prog. Theor. Phys. 118, 815 (2007)
C. Clarkson, B. Basset, T. Lu, Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 011301 (2008)
A. Coc , Phys. Rev. D 73, 083525 (2006)
A. Coc , Phys. Rev. D 76, 023511 (2007)
T. Damour, F.J. Dyson, Nucl. Phys. B 480, 37 (1996)
T. Damour, K. Nordtvedt, Phys. Rev. Lett. 70, 2217 (1993)
T. Damour, B. Pichon, Phys. Rev. D 59, 123502 (1999)
T. Damour, A.M. Polyakov, Nucl. Phys. B 423, 532 (1994)
T. Dent, S. Stern, C. Wetterich, Phys. Rev. D 76, 063513 (2007)
T. Dent, S. Stern, C. Wetterich, Phys. Rev. D 78, 103518 (2008)
P.A.M. Dirac, Nature (London) 139, 323 (1937)
O. Doré et al., arXiv:0712.1599 (2007)
V.A. Dzuba, V.V. Flambaum, J.K. Webb, Phys. Rev. A 59, 230 (1999)
G.F.R. Ellis, J.-P. Uzan, Am. J. Phys. 73, 240 (2005)
E. Epelbaum, U.G. Meissner, W. Gloeckle, Nucl. Phys. A 714, 535 (2003)
G. Esposito-Farèse, eConf C0507252 SLAC-R-819, T025 (2005)
G. Esposito-Farèse, D. Polarski, Phys. Rev. D 63, 063504 (2001)
V.V. Flambaum, E.V. Shuryak, Phys. Rev. D 65, 103503 (2002)
V.V. Flambaum, E.V. Shuryak, Phys. Rev. D 67, 083507 (2003)
J. Goodman, Phys. Rev. D 52, 1821 (1995)
C.J. Hogan, Rev. Mod. Phys. 72, 1149 (2000)
L.E. Ibánez, G.G. Ross, Phys. Lett. B 100, 215 (1982)
B. Jain, P. Zhang, arXiv:0709.2375 (2007)
S.G. Karshenboim, http://arXiv.org/abs/hep-ph/0509010 (2005)
J. Khoury, A. Veltman, Phys. Rev. Lett. 92, 171104 (2004)
S.J. Landau, M.E. Mosquera, H. Vucetich, Astrophys. J. 637, 38 (2006)
C.M. Müller, G. Schäfer, C. Wetterich, Phys. Rev. D 70, 083504 (2004)
L. Pasquini , Messenger 122, 10 (2005)
P. Peter, J.-P. Uzan, Cosmologie Primordiale (Belin, Paris, 2005). Translated as Primordial Cosmology (Oxford University Press, 2009)
Y.-S. Song, K. Koyama, arXiv:0802.3897 (2008)
T.R. Taylor, G. Veneziano, Phys. Lett. B 213, 450 (1988)
J.-P. Uzan, Rev. Mod. Phys. 75, 403 (2003)
J.-P. Uzan, AIP Conf. Proc. 736, 3 (2004)
J.-P. Uzan, Gen. Relativ. Gravit. 39, 307 (2007)
J.-P. Uzan, F. Bernardeau, Phys. Rev. D 64, 083004 (2001)
J.-P. Uzan, B. Leclercq, De l’importance d’être une constante (Dunod, Paris, 2005). Translated as The Natural Laws of the Universe—Understanding Fundamental Constants (Praxis, 2008)
J.-P. Uzan, C. Clarkson, G.F.R. Ellis, Phys. Rev. Lett. 100, 191303 (2008a)
J.-P. Uzan, F. Bernardeau, Y. Mellier, Phys. Rev. D 70, 021301 (2008b)
Y. Wang , Phys. Rev. D 76, 063503 (2007)
E. Witten, Phys. Lett. B 149, 351 (1984)
S. Weinberg, Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. A 310, 249 (1983)
C.M. Will, Theory and Experiment in Gravitational Physics (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1993)
P. Zhang , Phys. Rev. Lett. 99, 141302 (2007)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Uzan, JP. Fundamental Constants and Tests of General Relativity—Theoretical and Cosmological Considerations. Space Sci Rev 148, 249–265 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-009-9503-z
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-009-9503-z