Particle-accelerator constraints on isotropic modifications of the speed of light

New Constraint for Isotropic Lorentz Violation from LHC Data

New calculations for the kinematics of photon decay to fermions in vacuo under an isotropic violation of Lorentz invariance (LV), parametrized by the standard-model extension, are presented in this Letter and used to interpret prompt photon production in LHC data. The measurement of inclusive prompt photon production at the LHC Run 2, with photons observed up to a transverse energy of 2.5 TeV, provides the lower bound κ[over ˜]_{tr}>-1.06×10^{-13} on the isotropic coefficient κ[over ˜]_{tr} at 95% confidence level. This result improves over the previous bound from hadron colliders by a factor of 55. The calculations for the kinematics of photon decay have further potential use to constrain LV coefficients from the appearance of fermion pairs.

Prospects for testing Lorentz and CPT symmetry with antiprotons

A brief overview of the prospects of testing Lorentz and CPT symmetry with antimatter experiments is presented. The models discussed are applicable to atomic spectroscopy experiments, Penning-trap experiments and gravitational tests. Comments about the sensitivity of the most recent antimatter experiments to the models reviewed here are included.This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue 'Antiproton physics in the ELENA era'.

Implications of the Neutron Star Merger GW170817 for Cosmological Scalar-Tensor Theories

The LIGO and VIRGO Collaborations have recently announced the detection of gravitational waves from a neutron star-neutron star merger (GW170817) and the simultaneous measurement of an optical counterpart (the γ-ray burst GRB 170817A). The close arrival time of the gravitational and electromagnetic waves limits the difference in speed of photons and gravitons to be less than about 1 part in 10^{15}. This has three important implications for cosmological scalar-tensor gravity theories that are often touted as dark energy candidates and alternatives to the Λ cold dark matter model. First, for the most general scalar-tensor theories-beyond Horndeski models-three of the five parameters appearing in the effective theory of dark energy can now be severely constrained on astrophysical scales; we present the results of combining the new gravity wave results with galaxy cluster observations. Second, the combination with the lack of strong equivalence principle violations exhibited by the supermassive black hole in M87 constrains the quartic galileon model to be cosmologically irrelevant. Finally, we derive a new bound on the disformal coupling to photons that implies that such couplings are irrelevant for the cosmic evolution of the field.

What do we know about Lorentz invariance?

The realization that Planck-scale physics can be tested with existing technology through the search for spacetime-symmetry violation brought about the development of a comprehensive framework, known as the gravitational standard-model extension (SME), for studying deviations from exact Lorentz and CPT symmetry in nature. The development of this framework and its motivation led to an explosion of new tests of Lorentz symmetry over the past decade and to considerable theoretical interest in the subject. This work reviews the key concepts associated with Lorentz and CPT symmetry, the structure of the SME framework, and some recent experimental and theoretical results.

Equivalence principle and bound kinetic energy

We consider the role of the internal kinetic energy of bound systems of matter in tests of the Einstein equivalence principle. Using the gravitational sector of the standard model extension, we show that stringent limits on equivalence principle violations in antimatter can be indirectly obtained from tests using bound systems of normal matter. We estimate the bound kinetic energy of nucleons in a range of light atomic species using Green's function Monte Carlo calculations, and for heavier species using a Woods-Saxon model. We survey the sensitivities of existing and planned experimental tests of the equivalence principle, and report new constraints at the level of between a few parts in 10(6) and parts in 10(8) on violations of the equivalence principle for matter and antimatter.

New limit on Lorentz violation using a double-pass optical ring cavity

A search for Lorentz violation in electrodynamics was performed by measuring the resonant frequency difference between two counterpropagating directions of an optical ring cavity. Our cavity contains a dielectric element, which makes our cavity sensitive to the violation. The laser frequency is stabilized to the counterclockwise resonance of the cavity, and the transmitted light is reflected back into the cavity for resonant frequency comparison with the clockwise resonance. This double-pass configuration enables a null experiment and gives high common mode rejection of environmental disturbances. We found no evidence for odd-parity anisotropy at the level of δc/c ≲ 10(-14). Within the framework of the standard model extension, our result put more than 5 times better limits on three odd-parity parameters κ(o+)(JK) and a 12 times better limit on the scalar parameter κ(tr) compared with the previous best limits.

Oscillating test of the isotropic shift of the speed of light

In this Letter, we present an improved constraint on possible isotropic variations of the speed of light. Within the framework of the standard model extension, we provide a limit on the isotropic, scalar parameter κ̃(tr) of 3±11×10({-10), an improvement by a factor of 6 over previous constraints. This was primarily achieved by modulating the orientation of the experimental apparatus with respect to the velocity of Earth. This orientation modulation shifts the signal for Lorentz invariance to higher frequencies, and we have taken advantage of the higher stability of the resonator at shorter time scales, together with better rejection of systematic effects, to provide a new constraint.

Limits on light-speed anisotropies from Compton scattering of high-energy electrons

The possibility of anisotropies in the speed of light relative to the limiting speed of electrons is considered. The absence of sidereal variations in the energy of Compton-edge photons at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility's GRAAL facility constrains such anisotropies representing the first nonthreshold collision-kinematics study of Lorentz violation. When interpreted within the minimal standard-model extension, this result yields the two-sided limit of 1.6×10(-14) at 95% confidence level on a combination of the parity-violating photon and electron coefficients (κ(o+))(YZ), (κ(o+))(ZX), c(TX), and c(TY). This new constraint provides an improvement over previous bounds by 1 order of magnitude.