Published November 15, 2008 | Version v1
Journal article

γ-ray polarization constraints on Planck scale violations of special relativity

  • 1. IASF-INAF, via Fosso del Cavaliere 100, Roma (Italy)
  • 2. Max-Planck-Institut fuer Kernphysik, Saupfercheckweg, 1, D-69117, Heidelberg (Germany)
  • 3. SISSA/ISAS, via Beirut 2-4, 34014, Trieste (Italy) and INFN, Sezione di Trieste, via Valerio, 2, 34127 Trieste (Italy)

Description

Using recent polarimetric observations of the Crab Nebula in the hard X-ray band by INTEGRAL, we show that the absence of vacuum birefringence effects constrains O(E/M) Lorentz violation in QED to the level |ξ|<9x10-10 at 3σ CL, tightening by more than 3 orders of magnitude previous constraints. We show that planned X-ray polarimeters have the potential to probe |ξ|∼10-16 by detecting polarization in active galaxies at red-shift ∼1.

Additional details

Publishing Information

Journal Title
Physical Review. D, Particles Fields
Journal Volume
78
Journal Issue
10
Journal Page Range
p. 103003-103003.5
ISSN
0556-2821
CODEN
PRVDAQ

Optional Information

Notes
(c) 2008 The American Physical Society