Can Gamma-Ray Telescopes Test Quantum-Spacetime Relativity?

[wolram]

Has anyone looked at this, it seems interesting to me.

arXiv:1006.0007 [pdf, ps, other]
Title: Testing quantum-spacetime relativity with gamma-ray telescopes
Authors: Giovanni Amelino-Camelia, Antonino Marciano, Marco Matassa, Giacomo Rosati
Comments: 5 pages
Subjects: High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena (astro-ph.HE); General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc)

Observations of gamma-ray bursts are being used to test for a momentum dependence of the speed of photons, partly motivated by preliminary results reported in analyses of some quantum-spacetime scenarios. The relationship between time of arrival, momentum of the photon and redshift of the source which is used for these purposes assumes a "breakdown" of relativistic symmetries, meaning that it is a preferred-frame scenario which does not satisfy the Relativity Principle. The alternative hypothesis of a "deformation" of relativistic symmetries, which preserves the Relativity Principle by adopting deformed laws of relativistic transformation between observers, could not so far be tested in gamma-ray-burst observations because it was not known how to formulate it in expanding spacetimes. We here provide such a formulation, and we find that also for the symmetry-deformation scenario the analysis of gamma-ray-burst data take us very close to the desired "Planck-scale sensitivity".

 

[AndyW]

Thank you for bringing this paper to our attention. I have indeed looked at this paper and find it very interesting. The authors propose using gamma-ray telescopes to test for a momentum dependence of the speed of photons, which could potentially provide evidence for a breakdown or deformation of relativistic symmetries. This is an important question in the field of high energy astrophysics and general relativity, as it could reveal insights into the fundamental nature of spacetime.

The paper presents a new formulation for the deformation scenario, which has not been previously explored in the context of expanding spacetimes. This is a significant contribution to the field, as it allows for the possibility of testing this hypothesis using gamma-ray bursts. The authors also mention that the current analysis of gamma-ray burst data is already approaching the desired "Planck-scale sensitivity", which is very exciting.

I agree with the authors that further studies and observations using gamma-ray telescopes are necessary to fully understand the implications of their proposed scenario. This could potentially lead to a better understanding of the fundamental laws of physics and the nature of spacetime.

Thank you again for sharing this paper with the forum. I believe it will generate valuable discussions and further research in this area.