Practical limitations on astrophysical observations of methanol to investigate variations in the proton-to-electron mass ratio

The possibility of using astrophysical observations of rotational transitions in the methanol molecule to measure, or constrain temporal and spatial variations in the proton-to-electron mass ratio (μ) has recently been investigated by several groups. Here we outline some of the practical considerati...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review letters 2011-12, Vol.107 (27), p.270801-270801, Article 270801
Main Authors: Ellingsen, Simon, Voronkov, Maxim, Breen, Shari
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
ALCOHOLS
ASTROPHYSICS
ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
BARYONS
CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSICS
ELECTRONS
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
FERMIONS
HADRONS
HYDROXY COMPOUNDS
LEPTONS
MASS
METHANOL
NUCLEONS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
PHYSICS
PROTONS
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Summary:The possibility of using astrophysical observations of rotational transitions in the methanol molecule to measure, or constrain temporal and spatial variations in the proton-to-electron mass ratio (μ) has recently been investigated by several groups. Here we outline some of the practical considerations of making such observations, including both the instrumental and astrophysical limitations which exist at present. This leads us to conclude that such observations are unlikely to be able to improve evidence either for, or against the presence of variations in the proton-to-electron mass ratio by more than an order of magnitude beyond current limits.
ISSN:0031-9007
1079-7114
DOI:10.1103/PhysRevLett.107.270801