Speaker
Description
Some theoretical extensions of standard cosmology predict that values of fundamental constants vary in time and/or in space. The analysis of 300 quasar absorption spectra collected with VLT/UVES and Keck/HIRES indicate that the fine structure constant, $\alpha$, may vary as a dipole across the sky. These results are currently being followed-up through observations made using extremely precise spectrographs such as VLT/ESPRESSO, which will produce ~100 measurements by 2040.
The WST offers the possibility to produce several thousand measurements in only a few years. The large collecting area, high spectral resolution, and the large multiplexing of WST would be particularly suited to conducting a dedicated survey of varying constants, mapping out any potential variation as a function of time and direction, and placing constraints on fundamental physics theories. I will discuss the requirements such a project would impose on WST.
