New Limits on Planck Scale Lorentz Violation (Floyd Stecker)

[marcus]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1102.2784
New Limits on Planck Scale Lorentz Violation from Gamma-ray Burst Polarization
Floyd W. Stecker
3 pages, submitted to Phys. Rev. Letters
(Submitted on 14 Feb 2011)
"Constraints on possible Lorentz invariance violation to first order in E/M_{Planck} for photons in the framework of effective field theory are discussed. Using the detection of polarized soft gamma-ray emission from the gamma-ray burst GRB041219a that indicates the absence of vacuum birefringence, together with a method for estimating the redshift of the burst, we improve the previous constraints on the dimension 5 Lorentz violating modification to the Lagrangian of an effective local QFT for QED by 4 orders of magnitude."

Nice to see the situation here getting increasingly clear.

 

[AndyW]

This paper presents some very interesting and promising results regarding the limits on Planck scale Lorentz violation. The use of gamma-ray bursts to study Lorentz invariance is a very clever approach, as these bursts provide a unique and powerful way to probe the fundamental properties of space and time.

The findings of this study are particularly significant because they improve upon previous constraints by 4 orders of magnitude. This means that we are now able to rule out certain theories or models that propose Lorentz violation at the Planck scale. This is a crucial step in our understanding of the fundamental laws of physics, and it brings us closer to a more complete understanding of the universe.

The use of effective field theory in this study is also worth noting. This approach allows us to study the effects of Lorentz violation in a systematic and rigorous way, making it a valuable tool in our search for new physics. The detection of polarized soft gamma-ray emission from GRB041219a is a strong indication that the vacuum birefringence, a predicted consequence of Lorentz violation, is absent. This provides further evidence for the validity of Lorentz invariance at the Planck scale.

The implications of this study are far-reaching and can potentially lead us to new insights into the nature of space and time. Further studies using gamma-ray bursts and other astrophysical phenomena will continue to push the limits of our understanding and bring us closer to a complete theory of the universe. Congratulations to the authors on their impressive work, and I look forward to seeing more developments in this field.