Convergence properties of fine structure constant measurements using quasar absorption systems

Abstract

Searches for spacetime variations of fundamental constants have entered an era of unprecedented precision. New, high quality quasar spectra require increasingly refined analytic methods. In this article, a continuation in a series to establish robust and unbiased methodologies, we explore how convergence criteria in non-linear least squares optimisation impact on quasar absorption system measurements of the fine structure constant alpha. Given previous claims for high-precision constraints, we critically examine the veracity of a so-called ``blinding'' approach, in which alpha is fixed at the terrestrial value during the model building process, releasing it as a free parameter only after the ``final'' absorption system kinematic structure has been obtained. We show that this approach results in an extended flat canyon in chi squared-alpha space, such that convergence is unlikely to be reached, even after as many as 1000 iterations. The fix is straightforward: alpha must be treated as a free parameter from the earliest possible stages of absorption system model building. The implication of the results presented here is that all previous measurements that have used initially-fixed alpha should be reworked.