Constraining a possible time-variation of the speed of light along with the fine-structure constant using strong gravitational lensing and Type Ia supernovae observations

• Published in: arXiv.org
• Main Authors: Colaço, L R, Landau, S J, Gonzalez, J E, Spinelly, J, Santos, G L F
• Format: Paper Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Ithaca Cornell University Library, arXiv.org 26.08.2022
• Subjects: Dilatons; Galaxy distribution; Gravitational lenses; Light speed; Mass distribution; Physics - Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics; Red shift; Supernovae
• ISSN: 2331-8422
• DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2204.06459

The possible time variation of the fundamental constants of nature has been an active subject of research since the large-number hypothesis was proposed by Dirac. In this paper, we propose a new method to investigate a possible time variation of the speed of light (\(c\)) along with the fine-structure constant (\(\alpha\)) using Strong Gravitational Lensing (SGL) and Type Ia Supernovae (SNe Ia) observations. We assume a general approach to describe the mass distribution of lens-type galaxies, the one in favor of the power-law index model (PLAW). We also consider the runaway dilaton model to describe a possible time-variation of \(\alpha\). In order to explore the results deeply, we split the SGL sample into five sub-samples according to the lens stellar velocity dispersion and three sub-samples according to lens redshift. The results suggest that it is reasonable to treat the systems separately, but no strong indication of varying \(c\) was found.