A limit on the variation of the speed of light arising from quantum gravity effects

A. A. Abdo; M. Ackermann; M. Ajello; K. Asano; W. B. Atwood; M. Axelsson; L. Baldini; J. Ballet; G. Barbiellini; M. G. Baring; D. Bastieri; K. Bechto; R. Bellazzini; B. Berenji; P. N. Bhat; E. Bissaldi; E. D. Bloom; E. Bonamente; J. Bonnell; A. W. Borgland; A. Bouvier; J. Bregeon; A. Brez; M. S. Briggs; M. Brigida; P. Bruel; J. M. Burgess; T. H. Burnett; G. A. Caliandro; R. A. Cameron; P. A. Caraveo; J. M. Casandjian; C. Cecchi; Ö Çelik; V. Chaplin; E. Charles; C. C. Cheung; J. Chiang; S. Ciprini; R. Claus; J. Cohen-Tanugi; L. R. Cominsky; V. Connaughton; J. Conrad; S. Cutini; C. D. Dermer; A. De Angelis; F. De Palma; S. W. Dige; B. L. Dingus; E. Do Couto E Silva; P. S. Drell; R. Dubois; D. Dumora; C. Farnier; C. Favuzzi; S. J. Fegan; J. Finke; G. Fishman; W. B. Focke; L. Foschini; Y. Fukazawa; S. Funk; P. Fusco; F. Gargano; D. Gasparrini; N. Gehrels; S. Germani; L. Gibby; B. Giebels; N. Giglietto; F. Giordano; T. Glanzman; G. Godfrey; J. Granot; J. Greiner; I. A. Grenier; M. H. Grondin; J. E. Grove; D. Grupe; L. Guillemot; S. Guiriec; Y. Hanabata; A. K. Harding; M. Hayashida; E. Hays; E. A. Hoversten; R. E. Hughes; G. Jóhannesson; A. S. Johnson; R. P. Johnson; W. N. Johnson; T. Kamae; H. Katagiri; J. Kataoka; N. Kawai; M. Kerr; R. M. Kippen; J. Knödlseder; D. Kocevski; C. Kouveliotou; F. Kuehn; M. Kuss; J. Lande; L. Latronico; M. Lemoine-Goumard; F. Longo; F. Loparco; B. Lott; M. N. Lovellette; P. Lubrano; G. M. Madejski; A. Makeev; M. N. Mazziotta; S. McBreen; J. E. McEnery; S. McGlynn; P. Mészáros; C. Meurer; P. F. Michelson; W. Mitthumsiri; T. Mizuno; A. A. Moiseev; C. Monte; M. E. Monzani; E. Moretti; A. Morselli; I. V. Moskalenko; S. Murgia; T. Nakamori; P. L. Nolan; J. P. Norris; E. Nuss; M. Ohno; T. Ohsugi; N. Omodei; E. Orlando; J. F. Ormes; M. Ozaki; W. S. Paciesas; D. Paneque; J. H. Panetta; D. Parent; V. Pelassa; M. Pepe; M. Pesce-Rollins; V. Petrosian; F. Piron; T. A. Porter; R. Preece; S. Rainò; E. Ramirez-Ruiz; R. Rando; M. Razzano; S. Razzaque; A. Reimer; O. Reimer; T. Reposeur; S. Ritz; L. S. Rochester; A. Y. Rodriguez; M. Roth; F. Ryde; H. F.W. Sadrozinski; D. Sanchez; A. Sander; P. M. SazParkinson; J. D. Scargle; T. L. Schalk; C. Sgrò; E. J. Siskind; D. A. Smith; P. D. Smith; G. Spandre; P. Spinelli; M. Stamatikos; F. W. Stecker; M. S. Strickman; D. J. Suson; H. Tajima; H. Takahashi; T. Takahashi; T. Tanaka; J. B. Thayer; J. G. Thayer; D. J. Thompson; L. Tibaldo; K. Toma; D. F. Torres; G. Tosti; E. Troja; Y. Uchiyama; T. Uehara; T. L. Usher; A. J. Van Der Horst; V. Vasileiou; N. Vilchez; V. Vitale; A. VonKienlin; A. P. Waite; P. Wang; C. Wilson-Hodge; B. L. Winer; K. S. Wood; X. F. Wu; R. Yamazaki; T. Ylinen; M. Ziegler

doi:10.1038/nature08574

A limit on the variation of the speed of light arising from quantum gravity effects

A. A. Abdo, M. Ackermann, M. Ajello, K. Asano, W. B. Atwood, M. Axelsson, L. Baldini, J. Ballet, G. Barbiellini, M. G. Baring, D. Bastieri, K. Bechto, R. Bellazzini, B. Berenji, P. N. Bhat, E. Bissaldi, E. D. Bloom, E. Bonamente, J. Bonnell, A. W. BorglandA. Bouvier, J. Bregeon, A. Brez, M. S. Briggs, M. Brigida, P. Bruel, J. M. Burgess, T. H. Burnett, G. A. Caliandro, R. A. Cameron, P. A. Caraveo, J. M. Casandjian, C. Cecchi, Ö Çelik, V. Chaplin, E. Charles, C. C. Cheung, J. Chiang, S. Ciprini, R. Claus, J. Cohen-Tanugi, L. R. Cominsky, V. Connaughton, J. Conrad, S. Cutini, C. D. Dermer, A. De Angelis, F. De Palma, S. W. Dige, B. L. Dingus, E. Do Couto E Silva, P. S. Drell, R. Dubois, D. Dumora, C. Farnier, C. Favuzzi, S. J. Fegan, J. Finke, G. Fishman, W. B. Focke, L. Foschini, Y. Fukazawa, S. Funk, P. Fusco, F. Gargano, D. Gasparrini, N. Gehrels, S. Germani, L. Gibby, B. Giebels, N. Giglietto, F. Giordano, T. Glanzman, G. Godfrey, J. Granot, J. Greiner, I. A. Grenier, M. H. Grondin, J. E. Grove, D. Grupe, L. Guillemot, S. Guiriec, Y. Hanabata, A. K. Harding, M. Hayashida, E. Hays, E. A. Hoversten, R. E. Hughes, G. Jóhannesson, A. S. Johnson, R. P. Johnson, W. N. Johnson, T. Kamae, H. Katagiri, J. Kataoka, N. Kawai, M. Kerr, R. M. Kippen, J. Knödlseder, D. Kocevski, C. Kouveliotou, F. Kuehn, M. Kuss, J. Lande, L. Latronico, M. Lemoine-Goumard, F. Longo, F. Loparco, B. Lott, M. N. Lovellette, P. Lubrano, G. M. Madejski, A. Makeev, M. N. Mazziotta, S. McBreen, J. E. McEnery, S. McGlynn, P. Mészáros, C. Meurer, P. F. Michelson, W. Mitthumsiri, T. Mizuno, A. A. Moiseev, C. Monte, M. E. Monzani, E. Moretti, A. Morselli, I. V. Moskalenko, S. Murgia, T. Nakamori, P. L. Nolan, J. P. Norris, E. Nuss, M. Ohno, T. Ohsugi, N. Omodei, E. Orlando, J. F. Ormes, M. Ozaki, W. S. Paciesas, D. Paneque, J. H. Panetta, D. Parent, V. Pelassa, M. Pepe, M. Pesce-Rollins, V. Petrosian, F. Piron, T. A. Porter, R. Preece, S. Rainò, E. Ramirez-Ruiz, R. Rando, M. Razzano, S. Razzaque, A. Reimer, O. Reimer, T. Reposeur, S. Ritz, L. S. Rochester, A. Y. Rodriguez, M. Roth, F. Ryde, H. F.W. Sadrozinski, D. Sanchez, A. Sander, P. M. SazParkinson, J. D. Scargle, T. L. Schalk, C. Sgrò, E. J. Siskind, D. A. Smith, P. D. Smith, G. Spandre, P. Spinelli, M. Stamatikos, F. W. Stecker, M. S. Strickman, D. J. Suson, H. Tajima, H. Takahashi, T. Takahashi, T. Tanaka, J. B. Thayer, J. G. Thayer, D. J. Thompson, L. Tibaldo, K. Toma, D. F. Torres, G. Tosti, E. Troja, Y. Uchiyama, T. Uehara, T. L. Usher, A. J. Van Der Horst, V. Vasileiou, N. Vilchez, V. Vitale, A. VonKienlin, A. P. Waite, P. Wang, C. Wilson-Hodge, B. L. Winer, K. S. Wood, X. F. Wu, R. Yamazaki, T. Ylinen, M. Ziegler

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

510 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

A cornerstone of Einsteinĝ€™s special relativity is Lorentz invarianceĝ€"the postulate that all observers measure exactly the same speed of light in vacuum, independent of photon-energy. While special relativity assumes that there is no fundamental length-scale associated with such invariance, there is a fundamental scale (the Planck scale, l(Planck)1.62×10^-33cm or E(Planck) ≤ M(Planck)c ²1.22×10¹⁹GeV), at which quantum effects are expected to strongly affect the nature of spaceĝ€"time. There is great interest in the (not yet validated) idea that Lorentz invariance might break near the Planck scale. A key test of such violation of Lorentz invariance is a possible variation of photon speed with energy. Even a tiny variation in photon speed, when accumulated over cosmological light-travel times, may be revealed by observing sharp features in-ray burst (GRB) light-curves. Here we report the detection of emission up to 31GeV from the distant and short GRB090510. We find no evidence for the violation of Lorentz invariance, and place a lower limit of 1.2E(Planck) on the scale of a linear energy dependence (or an inverse wavelength dependence), subject to reasonable assumptions about the emission (equivalently we have an upper limit of l(Planck)/1.2 on the length scale of the effect). Our results disfavour quantum-gravity theories in which the quantum nature of spaceĝ€"time on a very small scale linearly alters the speed of light.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	331-334
Number of pages	4
Journal	Nature
Volume	462
Issue number	7271
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/nature08574
Publication status	Published - 19 Nov 2009
Externally published	Yes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Multidisciplinary

Access to Document

10.1038/nature08574

Cite this

Abdo, A. A., Ackermann, M., Ajello, M., Asano, K., Atwood, W. B., Axelsson, M., Baldini, L., Ballet, J., Barbiellini, G., Baring, M. G., Bastieri, D., Bechto, K., Bellazzini, R., Berenji, B., Bhat, P. N., Bissaldi, E., Bloom, E. D., Bonamente, E., Bonnell, J., ... Ziegler, M. (2009). A limit on the variation of the speed of light arising from quantum gravity effects. Nature, 462(7271), 331-334. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature08574

@article{f116523b3ec64902a22459d46aefc140,

title = "A limit on the variation of the speed of light arising from quantum gravity effects",

abstract = "A cornerstone of Einsteinĝ€{\texttrademark}s special relativity is Lorentz invarianceĝ€{"}the postulate that all observers measure exactly the same speed of light in vacuum, independent of photon-energy. While special relativity assumes that there is no fundamental length-scale associated with such invariance, there is a fundamental scale (the Planck scale, l(Planck)1.62×10-33cm or E(Planck) ≤ M(Planck)c 21.22×1019GeV), at which quantum effects are expected to strongly affect the nature of spaceĝ€{"}time. There is great interest in the (not yet validated) idea that Lorentz invariance might break near the Planck scale. A key test of such violation of Lorentz invariance is a possible variation of photon speed with energy. Even a tiny variation in photon speed, when accumulated over cosmological light-travel times, may be revealed by observing sharp features in-ray burst (GRB) light-curves. Here we report the detection of emission up to 31GeV from the distant and short GRB090510. We find no evidence for the violation of Lorentz invariance, and place a lower limit of 1.2E(Planck) on the scale of a linear energy dependence (or an inverse wavelength dependence), subject to reasonable assumptions about the emission (equivalently we have an upper limit of l(Planck)/1.2 on the length scale of the effect). Our results disfavour quantum-gravity theories in which the quantum nature of spaceĝ€{"}time on a very small scale linearly alters the speed of light.",

author = "Abdo, {A. A.} and M. Ackermann and M. Ajello and K. Asano and Atwood, {W. B.} and M. Axelsson and L. Baldini and J. Ballet and G. Barbiellini and Baring, {M. G.} and D. Bastieri and K. Bechto and R. Bellazzini and B. Berenji and Bhat, {P. N.} and E. Bissaldi and Bloom, {E. D.} and E. Bonamente and J. Bonnell and Borgland, {A. W.} and A. Bouvier and J. Bregeon and A. Brez and Briggs, {M. S.} and M. Brigida and P. Bruel and Burgess, {J. M.} and Burnett, {T. H.} and Caliandro, {G. A.} and Cameron, {R. A.} and Caraveo, {P. A.} and Casandjian, {J. M.} and C. Cecchi and {\"O} {\c C}elik and V. Chaplin and E. Charles and Cheung, {C. C.} and J. Chiang and S. Ciprini and R. Claus and J. Cohen-Tanugi and Cominsky, {L. R.} and V. Connaughton and J. Conrad and S. Cutini and Dermer, {C. D.} and {De Angelis}, A. and {De Palma}, F. and Dige, {S. W.} and Dingus, {B. L.} and {Do Couto E Silva}, E. and Drell, {P. S.} and R. Dubois and D. Dumora and C. Farnier and C. Favuzzi and Fegan, {S. J.} and J. Finke and G. Fishman and Focke, {W. B.} and L. Foschini and Y. Fukazawa and S. Funk and P. Fusco and F. Gargano and D. Gasparrini and N. Gehrels and S. Germani and L. Gibby and B. Giebels and N. Giglietto and F. Giordano and T. Glanzman and G. Godfrey and J. Granot and J. Greiner and Grenier, {I. A.} and Grondin, {M. H.} and Grove, {J. E.} and D. Grupe and L. Guillemot and S. Guiriec and Y. Hanabata and Harding, {A. K.} and M. Hayashida and E. Hays and Hoversten, {E. A.} and Hughes, {R. E.} and G. J{\'o}hannesson and Johnson, {A. S.} and Johnson, {R. P.} and Johnson, {W. N.} and T. Kamae and H. Katagiri and J. Kataoka and N. Kawai and M. Kerr and Kippen, {R. M.} and J. Kn{\"o}dlseder and D. Kocevski and C. Kouveliotou and F. Kuehn and M. Kuss and J. Lande and L. Latronico and M. Lemoine-Goumard and F. Longo and F. Loparco and B. Lott and Lovellette, {M. N.} and P. Lubrano and Madejski, {G. M.} and A. Makeev and Mazziotta, {M. N.} and S. McBreen and McEnery, {J. E.} and S. McGlynn and P. M{\'e}sz{\'a}ros and C. Meurer and Michelson, {P. F.} and W. Mitthumsiri and T. Mizuno and Moiseev, {A. A.} and C. Monte and Monzani, {M. E.} and E. Moretti and A. Morselli and Moskalenko, {I. V.} and S. Murgia and T. Nakamori and Nolan, {P. L.} and Norris, {J. P.} and E. Nuss and M. Ohno and T. Ohsugi and N. Omodei and E. Orlando and Ormes, {J. F.} and M. Ozaki and Paciesas, {W. S.} and D. Paneque and Panetta, {J. H.} and D. Parent and V. Pelassa and M. Pepe and M. Pesce-Rollins and V. Petrosian and F. Piron and Porter, {T. A.} and R. Preece and S. Rain{\`o} and E. Ramirez-Ruiz and R. Rando and M. Razzano and S. Razzaque and A. Reimer and O. Reimer and T. Reposeur and S. Ritz and Rochester, {L. S.} and Rodriguez, {A. Y.} and M. Roth and F. Ryde and Sadrozinski, {H. F.W.} and D. Sanchez and A. Sander and SazParkinson, {P. M.} and Scargle, {J. D.} and Schalk, {T. L.} and C. Sgr{\`o} and Siskind, {E. J.} and Smith, {D. A.} and Smith, {P. D.} and G. Spandre and P. Spinelli and M. Stamatikos and Stecker, {F. W.} and Strickman, {M. S.} and Suson, {D. J.} and H. Tajima and H. Takahashi and T. Takahashi and T. Tanaka and Thayer, {J. B.} and Thayer, {J. G.} and Thompson, {D. J.} and L. Tibaldo and K. Toma and Torres, {D. F.} and G. Tosti and E. Troja and Y. Uchiyama and T. Uehara and Usher, {T. L.} and {Van Der Horst}, {A. J.} and V. Vasileiou and N. Vilchez and V. Vitale and A. VonKienlin and Waite, {A. P.} and P. Wang and C. Wilson-Hodge and Winer, {B. L.} and Wood, {K. S.} and Wu, {X. F.} and R. Yamazaki and T. Ylinen and M. Ziegler",

year = "2009",

month = nov,

day = "19",

doi = "10.1038/nature08574",

language = "English",

volume = "462",

pages = "331--334",

journal = "Nature",

issn = "0028-0836",

publisher = "Nature Publishing Group",

number = "7271",

}

Abdo, AA, Ackermann, M, Ajello, M, Asano, K, Atwood, WB, Axelsson, M, Baldini, L, Ballet, J, Barbiellini, G, Baring, MG, Bastieri, D, Bechto, K, Bellazzini, R, Berenji, B, Bhat, PN, Bissaldi, E, Bloom, ED, Bonamente, E, Bonnell, J, Borgland, AW, Bouvier, A, Bregeon, J, Brez, A, Briggs, MS, Brigida, M, Bruel, P, Burgess, JM, Burnett, TH, Caliandro, GA, Cameron, RA, Caraveo, PA, Casandjian, JM, Cecchi, C, Çelik, Ö, Chaplin, V, Charles, E, Cheung, CC, Chiang, J, Ciprini, S, Claus, R, Cohen-Tanugi, J, Cominsky, LR, Connaughton, V, Conrad, J, Cutini, S, Dermer, CD, De Angelis, A, De Palma, F, Dige, SW, Dingus, BL, Do Couto E Silva, E, Drell, PS, Dubois, R, Dumora, D, Farnier, C, Favuzzi, C, Fegan, SJ, Finke, J, Fishman, G, Focke, WB, Foschini, L, Fukazawa, Y, Funk, S, Fusco, P, Gargano, F, Gasparrini, D, Gehrels, N, Germani, S, Gibby, L, Giebels, B, Giglietto, N, Giordano, F, Glanzman, T, Godfrey, G, Granot, J, Greiner, J, Grenier, IA, Grondin, MH, Grove, JE, Grupe, D, Guillemot, L, Guiriec, S, Hanabata, Y, Harding, AK, Hayashida, M, Hays, E, Hoversten, EA, Hughes, RE, Jóhannesson, G, Johnson, AS, Johnson, RP, Johnson, WN, Kamae, T, Katagiri, H, Kataoka, J, Kawai, N, Kerr, M, Kippen, RM, Knödlseder, J, Kocevski, D, Kouveliotou, C, Kuehn, F, Kuss, M, Lande, J, Latronico, L, Lemoine-Goumard, M, Longo, F, Loparco, F, Lott, B, Lovellette, MN, Lubrano, P, Madejski, GM, Makeev, A, Mazziotta, MN, McBreen, S, McEnery, JE, McGlynn, S, Mészáros, P, Meurer, C, Michelson, PF, Mitthumsiri, W, Mizuno, T, Moiseev, AA, Monte, C, Monzani, ME, Moretti, E, Morselli, A, Moskalenko, IV, Murgia, S, Nakamori, T, Nolan, PL, Norris, JP, Nuss, E, Ohno, M, Ohsugi, T, Omodei, N, Orlando, E, Ormes, JF, Ozaki, M, Paciesas, WS, Paneque, D, Panetta, JH, Parent, D, Pelassa, V, Pepe, M, Pesce-Rollins, M, Petrosian, V, Piron, F, Porter, TA, Preece, R, Rainò, S, Ramirez-Ruiz, E, Rando, R, Razzano, M, Razzaque, S, Reimer, A, Reimer, O, Reposeur, T, Ritz, S, Rochester, LS, Rodriguez, AY, Roth, M, Ryde, F, Sadrozinski, HFW, Sanchez, D, Sander, A, SazParkinson, PM, Scargle, JD, Schalk, TL, Sgrò, C, Siskind, EJ, Smith, DA, Smith, PD, Spandre, G, Spinelli, P, Stamatikos, M, Stecker, FW, Strickman, MS, Suson, DJ, Tajima, H, Takahashi, H, Takahashi, T, Tanaka, T, Thayer, JB, Thayer, JG, Thompson, DJ, Tibaldo, L, Toma, K, Torres, DF, Tosti, G, Troja, E, Uchiyama, Y, Uehara, T, Usher, TL, Van Der Horst, AJ, Vasileiou, V, Vilchez, N, Vitale, V, VonKienlin, A, Waite, AP, Wang, P, Wilson-Hodge, C, Winer, BL, Wood, KS, Wu, XF, Yamazaki, R, Ylinen, T & Ziegler, M 2009, 'A limit on the variation of the speed of light arising from quantum gravity effects', Nature, vol. 462, no. 7271, pp. 331-334. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature08574

TY - JOUR

T1 - A limit on the variation of the speed of light arising from quantum gravity effects

AU - Abdo, A. A.

AU - Ackermann, M.

AU - Ajello, M.

AU - Asano, K.

AU - Atwood, W. B.

AU - Axelsson, M.

AU - Baldini, L.

AU - Ballet, J.

AU - Barbiellini, G.

AU - Baring, M. G.

AU - Bastieri, D.

AU - Bechto, K.

AU - Bellazzini, R.

AU - Berenji, B.

AU - Bhat, P. N.

AU - Bissaldi, E.

AU - Bloom, E. D.

AU - Bonamente, E.

AU - Bonnell, J.

AU - Borgland, A. W.

AU - Bouvier, A.

AU - Bregeon, J.

AU - Brez, A.

AU - Briggs, M. S.

AU - Brigida, M.

AU - Bruel, P.

AU - Burgess, J. M.

AU - Burnett, T. H.

AU - Caliandro, G. A.

AU - Cameron, R. A.

AU - Caraveo, P. A.

AU - Casandjian, J. M.

AU - Cecchi, C.

AU - Çelik, Ö

AU - Chaplin, V.

AU - Charles, E.

AU - Cheung, C. C.

AU - Chiang, J.

AU - Ciprini, S.

AU - Claus, R.

AU - Cohen-Tanugi, J.

AU - Cominsky, L. R.

AU - Connaughton, V.

AU - Conrad, J.

AU - Cutini, S.

AU - Dermer, C. D.

AU - De Angelis, A.

AU - De Palma, F.

AU - Dige, S. W.

AU - Dingus, B. L.

AU - Do Couto E Silva, E.

AU - Drell, P. S.

AU - Dubois, R.

AU - Dumora, D.

AU - Farnier, C.

AU - Favuzzi, C.

AU - Fegan, S. J.

AU - Finke, J.

AU - Fishman, G.

AU - Focke, W. B.

AU - Foschini, L.

AU - Fukazawa, Y.

AU - Funk, S.

AU - Fusco, P.

AU - Gargano, F.

AU - Gasparrini, D.

AU - Gehrels, N.

AU - Germani, S.

AU - Gibby, L.

AU - Giebels, B.

AU - Giglietto, N.

AU - Giordano, F.

AU - Glanzman, T.

AU - Godfrey, G.

AU - Granot, J.

AU - Greiner, J.

AU - Grenier, I. A.

AU - Grondin, M. H.

AU - Grove, J. E.

AU - Grupe, D.

AU - Guillemot, L.

AU - Guiriec, S.

AU - Hanabata, Y.

AU - Harding, A. K.

AU - Hayashida, M.

AU - Hays, E.

AU - Hoversten, E. A.

AU - Hughes, R. E.

AU - Jóhannesson, G.

AU - Johnson, A. S.

AU - Johnson, R. P.

AU - Johnson, W. N.

AU - Kamae, T.

AU - Katagiri, H.

AU - Kataoka, J.

AU - Kawai, N.

AU - Kerr, M.

AU - Kippen, R. M.

AU - Knödlseder, J.

AU - Kocevski, D.

AU - Kouveliotou, C.

AU - Kuehn, F.

AU - Kuss, M.

AU - Lande, J.

AU - Latronico, L.

AU - Lemoine-Goumard, M.

AU - Longo, F.

AU - Loparco, F.

AU - Lott, B.

AU - Lovellette, M. N.

AU - Lubrano, P.

AU - Madejski, G. M.

AU - Makeev, A.

AU - Mazziotta, M. N.

AU - McBreen, S.

AU - McEnery, J. E.

AU - McGlynn, S.

AU - Mészáros, P.

AU - Meurer, C.

AU - Michelson, P. F.

AU - Mitthumsiri, W.

AU - Mizuno, T.

AU - Moiseev, A. A.

AU - Monte, C.

AU - Monzani, M. E.

AU - Moretti, E.

AU - Morselli, A.

AU - Moskalenko, I. V.

AU - Murgia, S.

AU - Nakamori, T.

AU - Nolan, P. L.

AU - Norris, J. P.

AU - Nuss, E.

AU - Ohno, M.

AU - Ohsugi, T.

AU - Omodei, N.

AU - Orlando, E.

AU - Ormes, J. F.

AU - Ozaki, M.

AU - Paciesas, W. S.

AU - Paneque, D.

AU - Panetta, J. H.

AU - Parent, D.

AU - Pelassa, V.

AU - Pepe, M.

AU - Pesce-Rollins, M.

AU - Petrosian, V.

AU - Piron, F.

AU - Porter, T. A.

AU - Preece, R.

AU - Rainò, S.

AU - Ramirez-Ruiz, E.

AU - Rando, R.

AU - Razzano, M.

AU - Razzaque, S.

AU - Reimer, A.

AU - Reimer, O.

AU - Reposeur, T.

AU - Ritz, S.

AU - Rochester, L. S.

AU - Rodriguez, A. Y.

AU - Roth, M.

AU - Ryde, F.

AU - Sadrozinski, H. F.W.

AU - Sanchez, D.

AU - Sander, A.

AU - SazParkinson, P. M.

AU - Scargle, J. D.

AU - Schalk, T. L.

AU - Sgrò, C.

AU - Siskind, E. J.

AU - Smith, D. A.

AU - Smith, P. D.

AU - Spandre, G.

AU - Spinelli, P.

AU - Stamatikos, M.

AU - Stecker, F. W.

AU - Strickman, M. S.

AU - Suson, D. J.

AU - Tajima, H.

AU - Takahashi, H.

AU - Takahashi, T.

AU - Tanaka, T.

AU - Thayer, J. B.

AU - Thayer, J. G.

AU - Thompson, D. J.

AU - Tibaldo, L.

AU - Toma, K.

AU - Torres, D. F.

AU - Tosti, G.

AU - Troja, E.

AU - Uchiyama, Y.

AU - Uehara, T.

AU - Usher, T. L.

AU - Van Der Horst, A. J.

AU - Vasileiou, V.

AU - Vilchez, N.

AU - Vitale, V.

AU - VonKienlin, A.

AU - Waite, A. P.

AU - Wang, P.

AU - Wilson-Hodge, C.

AU - Winer, B. L.

AU - Wood, K. S.

AU - Wu, X. F.

AU - Yamazaki, R.

AU - Ylinen, T.

AU - Ziegler, M.

PY - 2009/11/19

Y1 - 2009/11/19

N2 - A cornerstone of Einsteinĝ€™s special relativity is Lorentz invarianceĝ€"the postulate that all observers measure exactly the same speed of light in vacuum, independent of photon-energy. While special relativity assumes that there is no fundamental length-scale associated with such invariance, there is a fundamental scale (the Planck scale, l(Planck)1.62×10-33cm or E(Planck) ≤ M(Planck)c 21.22×1019GeV), at which quantum effects are expected to strongly affect the nature of spaceĝ€"time. There is great interest in the (not yet validated) idea that Lorentz invariance might break near the Planck scale. A key test of such violation of Lorentz invariance is a possible variation of photon speed with energy. Even a tiny variation in photon speed, when accumulated over cosmological light-travel times, may be revealed by observing sharp features in-ray burst (GRB) light-curves. Here we report the detection of emission up to 31GeV from the distant and short GRB090510. We find no evidence for the violation of Lorentz invariance, and place a lower limit of 1.2E(Planck) on the scale of a linear energy dependence (or an inverse wavelength dependence), subject to reasonable assumptions about the emission (equivalently we have an upper limit of l(Planck)/1.2 on the length scale of the effect). Our results disfavour quantum-gravity theories in which the quantum nature of spaceĝ€"time on a very small scale linearly alters the speed of light.

AB - A cornerstone of Einsteinĝ€™s special relativity is Lorentz invarianceĝ€"the postulate that all observers measure exactly the same speed of light in vacuum, independent of photon-energy. While special relativity assumes that there is no fundamental length-scale associated with such invariance, there is a fundamental scale (the Planck scale, l(Planck)1.62×10-33cm or E(Planck) ≤ M(Planck)c 21.22×1019GeV), at which quantum effects are expected to strongly affect the nature of spaceĝ€"time. There is great interest in the (not yet validated) idea that Lorentz invariance might break near the Planck scale. A key test of such violation of Lorentz invariance is a possible variation of photon speed with energy. Even a tiny variation in photon speed, when accumulated over cosmological light-travel times, may be revealed by observing sharp features in-ray burst (GRB) light-curves. Here we report the detection of emission up to 31GeV from the distant and short GRB090510. We find no evidence for the violation of Lorentz invariance, and place a lower limit of 1.2E(Planck) on the scale of a linear energy dependence (or an inverse wavelength dependence), subject to reasonable assumptions about the emission (equivalently we have an upper limit of l(Planck)/1.2 on the length scale of the effect). Our results disfavour quantum-gravity theories in which the quantum nature of spaceĝ€"time on a very small scale linearly alters the speed of light.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=70450278871&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1038/nature08574

DO - 10.1038/nature08574

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:70450278871

SN - 0028-0836

VL - 462

SP - 331

EP - 334

JO - Nature

JF - Nature

IS - 7271

ER -

A limit on the variation of the speed of light arising from quantum gravity effects

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