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 ] λλ 4959,5007 doublet emission lines from 578 galaxies, i...
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2025-01-01
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adad5b |
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| author | Linhua Jiang Shuqi Fu Feige Wang Sarah E. I. Bosman Zheng Cai Hyunsung D. Jun Zhiwei Pan Fengwu Sun Jinyi Yang Huanian Zhang |
| author_facet | Linhua Jiang Shuqi Fu Feige Wang Sarah E. I. Bosman Zheng Cai Hyunsung D. Jun Zhiwei Pan Fengwu Sun Jinyi Yang Huanian Zhang |
| author_sort | Linhua Jiang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | 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 ] λλ 4959,5007 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 Δ α / α for the individual subsamples. The calculated Δ α / α values are consistent with zero within 1 σ at all redshifts, suggesting no time variation in α above a level of (1–2) × 10 ^−4 (1 σ ) in the past 13.2 billion yr. When the whole sample is combined, the constraint is improved to be Δ α / 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 Δ α / α values are consistent with zero at a 1 σ 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 Δ α / 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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| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1538-4357 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Astrophysical Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-c3f4a37afb1246e8b603ae9281df948b2025-02-06T08:32:20ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572025-01-0198019310.3847/1538-4357/adad5bConstraints on the Variation of the Fine-structure Constant at 3 < z < 10 with JWST Emission-line GalaxiesLinhua Jiang0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4176-6486Shuqi Fu1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0964-7188Feige Wang2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7633-431XSarah E. I. Bosman3https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8582-7012Zheng Cai4https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8467-6478Hyunsung D. Jun5https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1470-5901Zhiwei Pan6https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0230-6436Fengwu Sun7https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4622-6617Jinyi Yang8https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5287-4242Huanian Zhang9https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0123-9246Department of Astronomy, School of Physics, Peking University , Beijing 100871, People’s Republic of China ; linhua.jiang@pku.edu.cn; Kavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Peking University , Beijing 100871, People’s Republic of ChinaDepartment of Astronomy, School of Physics, Peking University , Beijing 100871, People’s Republic of China ; linhua.jiang@pku.edu.cn; Kavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Peking University , Beijing 100871, People’s Republic of ChinaSteward Observatory, University of Arizona , 933 N Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721, USAInstitute for Theoretical Physics, Heidelberg University , Philosophenweg 12, D-69120, Heidelberg, Germany; 2—Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie , Königstuhl 17, 69117 Heidelberg, GermanyDepartment of Astronomy, Tsinghua University , Beijing 100084, People’s Republic of ChinaDepartment of Physics, Northwestern College , 101 7th Street SW, Orange City, IA 51041, USADepartment of Astronomy, School of Physics, Peking University , Beijing 100871, People’s Republic of China ; linhua.jiang@pku.edu.cn; Kavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Peking University , Beijing 100871, People’s Republic of ChinaSteward Observatory, University of Arizona , 933 N Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA; Center for Astrophysics ∣ Harvard & Smithsonian , 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USASteward Observatory, University of Arizona , 933 N Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721, USADepartment of Astronomy, Huazhong University of Science and Technology , Wuhan, Hubei 430074, People’s Republic of ChinaWe 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 ] λλ 4959,5007 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 Δ α / α for the individual subsamples. The calculated Δ α / α values are consistent with zero within 1 σ at all redshifts, suggesting no time variation in α above a level of (1–2) × 10 ^−4 (1 σ ) in the past 13.2 billion yr. When the whole sample is combined, the constraint is improved to be Δ α / 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 Δ α / α values are consistent with zero at a 1 σ 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 Δ α / α at the highest redshifts. With the growing number of ELGs from JWST, we expect to achieve stronger constraints in the future.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adad5bEmission line galaxiesGalaxy spectroscopyInterdisciplinary astronomy |
| spellingShingle | Linhua Jiang Shuqi Fu Feige Wang Sarah E. I. Bosman Zheng Cai Hyunsung D. Jun Zhiwei Pan Fengwu Sun Jinyi Yang Huanian Zhang Constraints on the Variation of the Fine-structure Constant at 3 < z < 10 with JWST Emission-line Galaxies The Astrophysical Journal Emission line galaxies Galaxy spectroscopy Interdisciplinary astronomy |
| title | Constraints on the Variation of the Fine-structure Constant at 3 < z < 10 with JWST Emission-line Galaxies |
| title_full | Constraints on the Variation of the Fine-structure Constant at 3 < z < 10 with JWST Emission-line Galaxies |
| title_fullStr | Constraints on the Variation of the Fine-structure Constant at 3 < z < 10 with JWST Emission-line Galaxies |
| title_full_unstemmed | Constraints on the Variation of the Fine-structure Constant at 3 < z < 10 with JWST Emission-line Galaxies |
| title_short | Constraints on the Variation of the Fine-structure Constant at 3 < z < 10 with JWST Emission-line Galaxies |
| title_sort | constraints on the variation of the fine structure constant at 3 z 10 with jwst emission line galaxies |
| topic | Emission line galaxies Galaxy spectroscopy Interdisciplinary astronomy |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adad5b |
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