Constraints on the variation of the fine-structure constant at 3 < z < 10 with JWST emission-line galaxies
We present constraints on the spacetime variation of the fine-structure constant α at redshifts 2.5 ≤ z < 9.5 using JWST emission-line galaxies (ELGs). The galaxy sample consists of 621 high-quality spectra with strong and narrow [O iii] λλ4959,5007 doublet emission lines from 578 galaxies, inclu...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article (Journal) |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2025 February 6
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| In: |
The astrophysical journal
Year: 2025, Volume: 980, Issue: 1, Pages: 1-11 |
| ISSN: | 1538-4357 |
| DOI: | 10.3847/1538-4357/adad5b |
| Online Access: | Verlag, kostenfrei, Volltext: https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adad5b Verlag, kostenfrei, Volltext: https://dx.doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adad5b 
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| Author Notes: | Linhua Jiang, Shuqi Fu, Feige Wang, Sarah E.I. Bosman, Zheng Cai, Hyunsung D. Jun, Zhiwei Pan, Fengwu Sun, Jinyi Yang, and Huanian Zhang |
| Summary: | We present constraints on the spacetime variation of the fine-structure constant α at redshifts 2.5 ≤ z < 9.5 using JWST emission-line galaxies (ELGs). The galaxy sample consists of 621 high-quality spectra with strong and narrow [O iii] λλ4959,5007 doublet emission lines from 578 galaxies, including 232 spectra at z > 5. The [O iii] doublet lines are arguably the best emission lines to probe the variation in α. We divide our sample into six subsamples based on redshift and calculate the relative variation Δα/α for the individual subsamples. The calculated Δα/α values are consistent with zero within 1σ at all redshifts, suggesting no time variation in α above a level of (1-2) × 10−4 (1σ) in the past 13.2 billion yr. When the whole sample is combined, the constraint is improved to be Δα/α = (0.2 ± 0.7) × 10−4. We further test the spatial variation in α using four subsamples of galaxies in four different directions on the sky. The measured Δα/α values are consistent with zero at a 1σ level of ∼2 × 10−4. While the constraints in this work are not as stringent as those from lower-redshift quasar absorption lines in previous studies, this work uses an independent tracer and provides the first constraints on Δα/α at the highest redshifts. With the growing number of ELGs from JWST, we expect to achieve stronger constraints in the future. |
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| Item Description: | Gesehen am 04.08.2025 |
| Physical Description: | Online Resource |
| ISSN: | 1538-4357 |
| DOI: | 10.3847/1538-4357/adad5b |