Effect of temperature on measurement of fundamental constants using white dwarfs in Gaia-EDR3 survey

Uniyal, Akhil; Kalita, Surajit; Chakrabarti, Sayan

China, South Africa, India

Abstract

Fundamental constants are crucial for comprehending physical mechanisms, but their measurements contain uncertainties due to experimental limitations. We investigate the impact of system temperature on these uncertainties using nearby white dwarfs observed in the Gaia Early Data Release 3 (EDR3) survey. Using the structures of these white dwarfs, we show that the variation in system temperature can affect the accuracy of measurements for fundamental parameters such as the fine-structure constant and the proton-to-electron mass ratio. This exploration emphasizes the importance of considering the energy of a system while putting bounds on the values of fundamental constants.

2024 Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Gaia 2