Four direct measurements of the fine-structure constant 13 billion years ago.

Observations of the redshift = 7.085 quasar J1120+0641 are used to search for variations of the fine structure constant, α, over the redshift range 5.5 to 7.

Indications of a spatial variation of the fine structure constant.

We previously reported Keck telescope observations suggesting a smaller value of the fine structure constant α at high redshift. New Very Large Telescope (VLT) data, probing a different direction in the Universe, shows an inverse evolution; α increases at high redshift. Although the pattern could be due to as yet undetected systematic effects, with the systematics as presently understood the combined data set fits a spatial dipole, significant at the 4.

Stringent null constraint on cosmological evolution of the proton-to-electron mass ratio.

We present a strong constraint on variation of the proton-to-electron mass ratio mu over cosmological time scales using molecular hydrogen transitions in optical quasar spectra. Using high quality spectra of quasars Q0405-443, Q0347-383, and Q0528-250, variation in micro relative to the present day value is limited to Deltamicro/micro=(2.6+/-3.

Human rights and the rule of law.

This personal view was first delivered to the 5th Conference of the World Police Medical Officers in Clinical Forensic Medicine, in Vancouver, Canada, in August 1999 by the Right Honourable Sir Robert Carswell, Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland.

Non-Voigt Lyalpha Absorption Line Profiles.

Recent numerical simulations have lead to a paradigm shift in our understanding of the intergalactic medium and the loss of a physical justification for Voigt profile fitting of the Lyalpha forest. Many individual lines seen in simulated spectra have significant departures from the Voigt profile, yet could be well fitted by a blend of two or more such lines. We discuss the expected effect on the line profiles due to ongoing gravitational structure formation and Hubble expansion.