The influence of a Lorentz-violating fixed background on fermions is considered by means of a torsion-free non-minimal coupling. The non-relativistic regime is assessed and the Lorentz-violating Hamiltonian is determined. The effect of this Hamiltonian on the hydrogen spectrum is determined to first-order evaluation (in the absence of external magnetic field), revealing that there appear some energy shifts that modify the fine structure of the spectrum. In the case the non-minimal coupling is torsion-like, no first order correction shows up in the absence of an external field; in the presence of an external field, a secondary Zeeman effect is implied. Such effects are then used to set up stringent bounds on the parameters of the model.
The influence of Lorentz-and CPT-violating terms (in "vector" and "axial vector" couplings) on the Dirac equation is explicitly analyzed: plane wave solutions, dispersion relations and eigenenergies are explicitly obtained. The non-relativistic limit is worked out and the Lorentz-violating Hamiltonian identified in both cases, in full agreement with the results already established in the literature. Finally, the physical implications of this Hamiltonian on the spectrum of hydrogen are evaluated both in the absence and presence of a magnetic external field. It is observed that the fixed background, when considered in a vector coupling, yields no qualitative modification in the hydrogen spectrum, whereas it does provide an effective Zeeman-like splitting of the spectral lines whenever coupled in the axial vector form. It is also argued that the presence of an external fixed field does not imply new modifications on the spectrum.
Rolling tachyon field models are among the candidates suggested as explanations for the recent acceleration of the Universe. In these models the field is expected to interact with gauge fields and lead to variations of the fine-structure constant α. Here we take advantage of recent observational progress and use a combination of background cosmological observations of Type Ia supernovas and astrophysical and local measurements of α to improve constraints on this class of models. We show that the constraints on α imply that the field dynamics must be extremely slow, leading to a constraint of the present-day dark energy equation of state (1 + w0) < 2.4 × 10 −7 at the 99.7% confidence level. Therefore current and forthcoming standard background cosmology observational probes can't distinguish this class of models from a cosmological constant, while detections of α variations could possibly do so since they would have a characteristic redshift dependence.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.