Phonon Lorentz Invariance in Superfluids - Papers?

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the concept of phonon behavior in superfluids and its relation to Lorentz invariance, specifically referencing the paper "Acoustics in Bose–Einstein Condensates as an Example of Broken Lorentz Symmetry." The paper illustrates that while phonons exhibit a dispersion relation resembling Lorentz invariance at low momentum, this invariance is not equivalent to that of light speed, as the speed of sound varies with the material's frame of reference. The significance lies in the potential insights this model provides regarding the breaking of Lorentz invariance at high momentum and its implications for quantum field theory.

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philton
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It is said phonon(not photon) in superfluid experiments could also produce similar upper-limit speed effect which I'm not sure if that's also Lorentz invariant.

Another problem is that I can't dig out those paper that demonstrates this kind of effect. Anyone ever seen any of this paper? Thanks..
 
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philton said:
It is said

Where? Is this something in the paper you can't dig out?

Bear in mind that, without a reference, it's going to be very difficult to answer your question.
 
PeterDonis said:
Where? Is this something in the paper you can't dig out?

Bear in mind that, without a reference, it's going to be very difficult to answer your question.

Oops, thanks for the remind:
ACOUSTICS IN BOSE–EINSTEIN CONDENSATES AS AN EXAMPLE OF BROKEN LORENTZ SYMMETRY
http://arxiv.org/pdf/hep-th/0109033v1.pdf

MATT VISSER \/ CARLOS BARCELO said:
In particular, acoustics in Bose–Einstein condensates has the interesting property that at low-momentum the phonon dispersion relation can be written in a “relativistic” form exhibiting an approximate “Lorentz invariance”
 
Last edited:
philton said:
ACOUSTICS IN BOSE–EINSTEIN CONDENSATES AS AN EXAMPLE OF BROKEN LORENTZ SYMMETRY

Ok. Note that they put "Lorentz invariance" in quotes; the "invariance" is in terms of the speed of sound in the material, not the speed of light, and it only applies for phonons of sufficiently low momentum. The speed of sound in a material is not Lorentz invariant (in the usual sense of invariance in terms of the speed of light); it will be different in a frame in which the material is moving than it is in a frame in which the material is at rest. So the phonon behavior discussed in this paper is not Lorentz invariant in the usual sense; the paper appears to be writing down all its equations in the rest frame of the material.

The interest of this model is not that phonons are actually Lorentz invariant; it is that the equations in the low momentum limit have the same form as Lorentz invariant equations in quantum field theory, so that the form of the equations for the breaking of the "Lorentz invariance" of phonons as you go to higher momentum might give suggestions for how a hypothesized breaking of actual Lorentz invariance at or near the Planck scale could work.
 

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