Time variation of fundamental constants. II. Quark masses as time-dependent parameters

Consistent bounds for the simultaneous variations of fundamental constants in the standard model of fundamental interactions are obtained from astronomical, astrophysical, geophysical, and laboratory data. Improving the analysis made in our previous work, we treat quark masses as time-dependent variables. QCD chiral invariance breaks down and the general scaling of strong energies has to be reanalyzed. We also discuss the existence of preferred reference systems in a world with time-varying fundamental parameters. As in our previous work, the bounds obtained exclude the Dirac large-number hypothesis and, in general, any theory demanding a large variation of the fundamental constants.