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Black holes may not constrain varying constants

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S. Carlip, S. Vaidya

High Energy Physics - Theory · Submitted 27 Sep 2002

abstract compiled · 2026-09-23 · no language-model review

The authors' main claim We show that when one considers the full thermal environment of a black hole, no such conclusion can be drawn: thermodynamics is consistent with an increase in \alpha whether it comes from a decrease in c, an increase in e, or a combination of the two.

how it is stated · asserted 0.84 read the record →

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arXiv IDhep-th/0209249 (version 1)
Pith IDH6UH7WSU, Pith's permanent record of this paper and its review
CitationS. Carlip, S. Vaidya. "Black holes may not constrain varying constants." arXiv:hep-th/0209249 (2002). https://pith.science/paper/H6UH7WSU
Claim paper

The compiled record

The paper's own sentences, arranged. Each label is drawn from a closed vocabulary; the number beside it is the probability the classifier gave that label. Numbers in the tables are the authors', checked by code. No sentence in this record was written by a model.

Open the compiled record

Compiled by classifier-1.13-20260917 via OpenRouter, question bank abstract-p1-20260923, 2026-09-23: 1 request, 3,076 input tokens, $0.0001 reported.

What the abstract itself states, as probabilities: claims first 0.05 · states limitation 0.14 · human participants 0.02 · controlled comparison 0.06 · randomized assignment 0.01 · states quantitative result 0.03 · compares with prior results 0.93 · mentions code or data availability 0.01.

The abstract, sentence by sentence

arXiv listing abstract v1. Results and the main claim are underlined; .

New and rather controversial observations hint that the fine structure constant \alpha may have been smaller in the early universe, suggesting that some of the fundamental ``constants'' of physics may be dynamical. In a recent paper, Davies, Davis, and Lineweaver have argued that black hole thermodynamics favors theories in which the speed of light c decreases with time, and disfavors those in which the fundamental electric charge e increases. We show that when one considers the full thermal environment of a black hole, no such conclusion can be drawn: thermodynamics is consistent with an increase in \alpha whether it comes from a decrease in c, an increase in e, or a combination of the two.

background contribution method result interpretation main claim

What the classifier reports for each sentence. The number is the probability it gave the label.
#sentencerolethe authors' own workstates the main conclusionstrength
s0 New and rather controversial observations hint that the fine structure constant \alpha may have been smaller in the early universe, suggesting that some of the fundamental ``constants'' of physics may be dynamical. background 1.00 0.04 0.02 hedged possibility 1.00
s1 In a recent paper, Davies, Davis, and Lineweaver have argued that black hole thermodynamics favors theories in which the speed of light c decreases with time, and disfavors those in which the fundamental electric charge e increases. background 1.00 0.03 0.04 asserted 0.93
s2 We show that when one considers the full thermal environment of a black hole, no such conclusion can be drawn: thermodynamics is consistent with an increase in \alpha whether it comes from a decrease in c, an increase in e, or a combination of the two. result 0.96 0.93 0.97 asserted 0.84

What kind of paper the classifier reports this is: theoretical result 0.69 · evidence from proof or derivation 0.53.

What was examined, and what was not

sources read
  • arXiv listing abstract v1
not examined
  • full text
  • figures and tables
  • references and citing sentences
  • relations to other papers
levels run
  • P abstract
not run
  • S sections
  • T body sentences
  • C citations
  • R cross-paper relations

Every quoted sentence on this record is the authors'. Every label is from Pith's closed vocabulary, with the probability shown beside it. Every number in the measurements table is the authors', checked by code. Record as JSON

The paper
Original abstract

New and rather controversial observations hint that the fine structure constant \alpha may have been smaller in the early universe, suggesting that some of the fundamental ``constants'' of physics may be dynamical. In a recent paper, Davies, Davis, and Lineweaver have argued that black hole thermodynamics favors theories in which the speed of light c decreases with time, and disfavors those in which the fundamental electric charge e increases. We show that when one considers the full thermal environment of a black hole, no such conclusion can be drawn: thermodynamics is consistent with an increase in \alpha whether it comes from a decrease in c, an increase in e, or a combination of the two.

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Found among the papers closest to this one by title and main claim. Pith's classifier compared each pair's main results and a second model family confirmed the relation; checked against two further families, shown conflicts agreed 118 times in 120 and shown same results 218 times in 239. The quoted sentence is the other paper's main claim.

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