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The mass effect -- Variations of the electron mass and their impact on cosmology

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arxiv 2407.16845 v3 pith:2THD536F submitted 2024-07-23 astro-ph.CO gr-qchep-ph

classification astro-ph.COgr-qchep-ph
keywords masssigmadataelectronmodelvariationssignificancecosmology
verification ladder T0 review T1 audit T2 compute T3 formal

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abstract

We summarize and explain the current status of time variations of the electron mass in cosmology, showing that such variations allow for significant easing of the Hubble tension, from the current $\sim5\sigma$ significance, down to between $3.4\sigma$ and $1.0\sigma$ significance, depending on the precise model and data. Electron mass variations are preferred by Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) data in combination with the latest results on baryonic acoustic oscillations (BAO) and type Ia supernovae at a level of significance between $2\sigma$ and $3.6\sigma$ depending on the model and the data. This preference for a model involving an electron mass variation is neither tightly constrained from light element abundances generated during big bang nucleosynthesis nor from post-recombination observations using quasars and atomic clocks, though future data is expected to give strong evidence in favor of or against this model.

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Forward citations

Cited by 9 Pith papers

Reviewed papers in the Pith corpus that reference this work. Sorted by Pith novelty score. Full citation record

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