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Summary: arXiv:hep-th/0402154v120Feb2004
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Searching for Lorentz Violation
Roland E. Allen and Seiichirou Yokoo
Physics Department, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843
Astrophysical, terrestrial, and space-based searches for Lorentz violation are very briefly reviewed. Such searches
are motivated by the fact that all superunified theories (and other theories that attempt to include quantum
gravity) have some potential for observable violations of Lorentz invariance. Another motivation is the exquisite
sensitivity of certain well-designed experiments and observations to particular forms of Lorentz violation. We also
review some new predictions of a specific Lorentz-violating theory: If a fundamental energy mc2
in this theory lies
below the usual GZK cutoff EGZK, the cutoff is shifted to infinite energy; i.e., it no longer exists. On the other
hand, if mc2
lies above EGZK , there is a high-energy branch of the fermion dispersion relation which provides an
alternative mechanism for super-GZK cosmic-ray protons.
1. Introduction
During the past few years there has been in-
creasingly widespread interest in possible viola-
tions of Lorentz invariance [1-29]. There are sev-
eral motivations for this interest.
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