PIRSA:12100058

Astrophysical Searches for Quantum Gravity Signals

Granot, J. (2012). Astrophysical Searches for Quantum Gravity Signals . Perimeter Institute. https://pirsa.org/12100058

Granot, Jonathan. Astrophysical Searches for Quantum Gravity Signals . Perimeter Institute, Oct. 24, 2012, https://pirsa.org/12100058 

          @misc{ pirsa_12100058,
            doi = {10.48660/12100058},
            url = {https://pirsa.org/12100058},
            author = {Granot, Jonathan},
            keywords = {Quantum Gravity},
            language = {en},
            title = {Astrophysical Searches for Quantum Gravity Signals },
            publisher = {Perimeter Institute},
            year = {2012},
            month = {oct},
            note = {PIRSA:12100058 see, \url{https://pirsa.org}}
          }

Jonathan Granot University of Hertfordshire

DOI 10.48660/12100058
Collection
Talk Type Scientific Series
Subject

Abstract

Some recent searches for quantum gravity signatures using observations of distant astrophysical sources will be discussed, focusing on the search for Lorentz invariance violation (LIV) in the form of a dependence of the photon propagation speed on its energy. Fermi gamma-ray space telescope observations of ~8 keV to ~30 GeV photons from a short (< 1 s) gamma-ray burst (GRB 090510) at a cosmological distance (z = 0.903), enabled for the first time to put a direct time of flight limit on a possible linear variation of the speed of light with photon energy that is beyond the Planck scale. Parameterizing |v/c-1| = E/E_{QG} our most conservative limits are E_{QG}/E_{Planck} > 1.2, while less conservative limits are up to 1-2 orders of magnitude stricter. Other types of astrophysical searches for LIV will be briefly outlined, along with some prospects for the future.