All articles tagged with #lorentz invariance
A 300 TeV photon from a gamma-ray burst 2 billion light-years away defied known physics by surviving the journey. Researchers propose it used axion-like particles and Lorentz invariance violations to bypass cosmic microwave background radiation, potentially opening a new window for quantum gravity research.
Physicists propose GRB 221009A’s extreme 300 TeV photons survived a two‑billion‑light‑year trip by briefly converting into axion‑like particles, with a tiny Lorentz‑invariance violation enabling a “fast lane.” A predicted one‑hour gap between lower‑energy photons and the 300 TeV burst matched an independent Chinese observation, offering empirical support and a potential probe of quantum gravity.
A high-energy photon from GRB 221009A, nicknamed the BOAT, arrived on Earth despite expectations it would be absorbed by the cosmic microwave background. Researchers propose it may have traveled as an axion-like particle and later converted back, potentially aided by a high-energy Lorentz-invariance violation, effectively giving photons a “fast lane” through space. The arrival timing aligns with the theory, and if confirmed, could turn space into a natural laboratory for quantum gravity research.
Physicists from the University of Warsaw and Oxford propose a revised tachyon quantum field theory that doubles the Hilbert space into a twin-space framework, restoring covariance and a stable vacuum while allowing faster-than-light particles to fit within relativity without paradoxes. The work is theoretical and conceptual, not experimental, and could reshape how time symmetry, causality, and quantum fields are understood, though it does not claim tachyons exist.
A comprehensive review of 65 observations from pulsars, active galaxies, and gamma-ray bursts tightens the limits on any energy-dependent variation in photon speed, finding no violation of Lorentz invariance and reinforcing Einstein’s relativity; it also refines how such limits are calculated and points to future instruments for even tighter tests.
New analysis of gamma-ray flares from pulsars, active galactic nuclei, and gamma-ray bursts finds no energy-dependent speed of light, placing stricter bounds on Lorentz-violating effects predicted by some quantum gravity theories. The results tighten the allowed violations by about 1.5 orders of magnitude and offer a framework for integrating new data into the SME; in short, SR remains consistent, while the search for quantum-gravity signatures continues.
Scientists tested the possibility of breaking Einstein's speed of light rule by examining high-energy gamma rays from distant cosmic sources. Their findings confirmed Einstein's predictions, setting tighter limits on potential violations of Lorentz invariance and advancing our understanding of fundamental physics, though the quest to unify quantum theory and gravity continues.