A strong astrophysical constraint on the violation of special relativity by quantum gravity

T. Jacobson (), S. Liberati and D. Mattingly
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T. Jacobson: University of Maryland
S. Liberati: University of Maryland
D. Mattingly: University of Maryland

Nature, 2003, vol. 424, issue 6952, 1019-1021

Abstract: Abstract Special relativity asserts that physical phenomena appear the same to all unaccelerated observers. This is called Lorentz symmetry and relates long wavelengths to short ones: if the symmetry is exact it implies that space-time must look the same at all length scales. Several approaches to quantum gravity, however, suggest that there may be a microscopic structure of space-time that leads to a violation of Lorentz symmetry. This might arise because of the discreteness1 or non-commutivity2 of space-time, or through the action of extra dimensions3. Here we determine a very strong constraint on a type of Lorentz violation that produces a maximum electron speed less than the speed of light. We use the observation of 100-MeV synchrotron radiation from the Crab nebula to improve the previous limit by a factor of 40 million, ruling out this type of Lorentz violation, and thereby providing an important constraint on theories of quantum gravity.

Date: 2003
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DOI: 10.1038/nature01882

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