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Symmetry
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Violation of Lorentz Symmetry
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Violation of Lorentz Symmetry

A special issue of Symmetry (ISSN 2073-8994). This special issue belongs to the section "Physics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2017) | Viewed by 20087

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Charles D. Lane

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Physics Astronomy and Geology, Berry College, GA, USA
Interests: fundamental symmetries; high-energy physics; mathematical physics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

As near as we can currently tell, all laws of physics in our universe are symmetric under the Lorentz group of spacetime transformations. It is one of very few laws that appear to be perfect, and is a fundamental assumption of modern physical theories. Because of its fundamental importance, it is important to continue testing it to greater and greater precision. Moreover, modern experiments probing Lorentz violations have sufficient precision to potentially acquire information regarding Planck-scale physics; this is almost unique among experiments that try to study physics beyond the Standard Model.

To study Lorentz violations, it is useful to have a framework that allows for all types of Lorentz violations that could occur in nature, while respecting other fundamental principles. For example, the Standard-Model Extension is a local, relativistic point-particle effective field theory that includes all possible effects that break particle Lorentz symmetry, while preserving observer Lorentz symmetry, energy-momentum conservation, and the usual Standard-Model gauge symmetries. It may be considered to inhabit either flat or curved spacetime with General Relativistic gravitational effects. Due to being a systematic general framework, the Standard-Model Extension can be used to compare experimental results across broad categories: high-energy particle physics; low-energy atomic, nuclear, and optical systems; astrophysical spectroscopy; neutrino physics; spin-polarized solids; the gravitational equivalence principle; solar-system gravitation; and many more. It has been applied in great depth to both non-gravitational physics (i.e., flat spacetime) and to gravitational physics (i.e., curved spacetime).

For this Special Issue of Symmetry, we seek to provide an overview of theoretical, phenomenological, and experimental results in Lorentz-violating physics.

Dr. Charles D. Lane
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Symmetry is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Lorentz Symmetry

  • Lorentz Violation

  • Tests of Relativity

  • Particle transformations

  • Observer transformations

  • CPT

  • Sidereal

  • Standard-Model Extension

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

263 KiB  
Article
Why Cerenkov Radiation May Not Occur, Even When It Is Allowed by Lorentz-Violating Kinematics
by Brett Altschul
Symmetry 2017, 9(11), 250; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym9110250 - 26 Oct 2017
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2676
Abstract
In a Lorentz-violating quantum field theory, the energy-momentum relations for the field quanta are typically modified. This affects the kinematics, and processes that are normally forbidden may become allowed. One reaction that clearly becomes kinematically possible when photons’ phase speeds are less than [...] Read more.
In a Lorentz-violating quantum field theory, the energy-momentum relations for the field quanta are typically modified. This affects the kinematics, and processes that are normally forbidden may become allowed. One reaction that clearly becomes kinematically possible when photons’ phase speeds are less than 1 is vacuum Cerenkov radiation. However, in spite of expectations, and in defiance of phase space estimates, a electromagnetic Chern–Simons theory with a timelike Lorentz violation coefficient does not feature any energy losses through Cerenkov emission. There is an unexpected cancelation, made possible by the existence of unstable long-wavelength modes of the field. The fact that the theory possesses a more limited form of gauge symmetry than conventional electrodynamics also plays a role. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Violation of Lorentz Symmetry)
615 KiB  
Article
CPT and Lorentz Violation in the Photon and Z-Boson Sector
by Donald Colladay, Jacob P. Noordmans and Robertus Potting
Symmetry 2017, 9(11), 248; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym9110248 - 25 Oct 2017
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2769
Abstract
Violation of CPT and Lorentz symmetry in the photon sector is described within the minimal Standard-Model Extension by a dimension-3 Chern–Simons-like operator parametrized by a four-vector parameter k A F that has been very tightly bounded by astrophysical observations. On the other hand, [...] Read more.
Violation of CPT and Lorentz symmetry in the photon sector is described within the minimal Standard-Model Extension by a dimension-3 Chern–Simons-like operator parametrized by a four-vector parameter k A F that has been very tightly bounded by astrophysical observations. On the other hand, in the context of the S U ( 2 ) × U ( 1 ) electroweak gauge sector of the Standard-Model Extension, CPT and Lorentz violation is described similarly, by dimension-3 operators parametrized by four-vector parameters k 1 and k 2 . In this work, we investigate in detail the effects of the resulting CPT and Lorentz violation in the photon and Z-boson sectors upon electroweak-symmetry breaking. In particular, we show that, for the photon sector, the relevant Lorentz-violating effects are described at the lowest order by the k A F term, but that there are higher-order momentum-dependent effects due to photon-Z boson mixing. As bounds on CPT and Lorentz violation in the Z sector are relatively weak, these effects could be important phenomenologically. We investigate these effects in detail in this work. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Violation of Lorentz Symmetry)
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3600 KiB  
Article
Using Comparisons of Clock Frequencies and Sidereal Variation to Probe Lorentz Violation
by Charles D. Lane
Symmetry 2017, 9(10), 245; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym9100245 - 23 Oct 2017
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3145
Abstract
This paper discusses clock-comparison experiments, which may be used to test Lorentz symmetry to an extremely high level of precision. We include a brief overview of theoretical predictions for signals of Lorentz violation in clock-comparison experiments and summarize results of experiments that have [...] Read more.
This paper discusses clock-comparison experiments, which may be used to test Lorentz symmetry to an extremely high level of precision. We include a brief overview of theoretical predictions for signals of Lorentz violation in clock-comparison experiments and summarize results of experiments that have been performed to date. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Violation of Lorentz Symmetry)
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225 KiB  
Article
Gravity Theories with Background Fields and Spacetime Symmetry Breaking
by Robert Bluhm
Symmetry 2017, 9(10), 230; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym9100230 - 16 Oct 2017
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 3206
Abstract
An overview is given of effective gravitational field theories with fixed background fields that break spacetime symmetry. The behavior of the background fields and the types of excitations that can occur depend on whether the symmetry breaking is explicit or spontaneous. For example, [...] Read more.
An overview is given of effective gravitational field theories with fixed background fields that break spacetime symmetry. The behavior of the background fields and the types of excitations that can occur depend on whether the symmetry breaking is explicit or spontaneous. For example, when the breaking is spontaneous, the background field is dynamical and massless Nambu–Goldstone and massive Higgs excitations can appear. However, if the breaking is explicit, the background is nondynamical, and in this case additional metric or vierbein excitations occur due to the loss of local symmetry, or these excitations can be replaced by dynamical scalar fields using a Stückelberg approach. The interpretation of Noether identities that must hold in each case differs, depending on the type of symmetry breaking, and this affects the nature of the consistency conditions that must hold. The Noether identities also shed light on why the Stückelberg approach works, and how it is able to restore the broken spacetime symmetry in a theory with explicit breaking. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Violation of Lorentz Symmetry)
530 KiB  
Article
Experimental Design for Testing Local Lorentz Invariance Violations in Gravity
by Ya-Fen Chen, Yu-Jie Tan and Cheng-Gang Shao
Symmetry 2017, 9(10), 219; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym9100219 - 10 Oct 2017
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 4266
Abstract
Local Lorentz invariance is an important component of General Relativity. Testing for Local Lorentz invariance can not only probe the foundation stone of General Relativity but also help to explore the unified theory for General Relativity and quantum mechanics. In this paper, we [...] Read more.
Local Lorentz invariance is an important component of General Relativity. Testing for Local Lorentz invariance can not only probe the foundation stone of General Relativity but also help to explore the unified theory for General Relativity and quantum mechanics. In this paper, we search the Local Lorentz invariance violation associated with operators of mass dimension d = 6 in the pure-gravity sector with short-range gravitational experiments. To enlarge the Local Lorentz invariance violation signal effectively, we design a new experiment in which the constraints of all fourteen violation coefficients may be improved by about one order of magnitude. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Violation of Lorentz Symmetry)
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633 KiB  
Article
Testing Lorentz Symmetry Using High Energy Astrophysics Observations
by Floyd W. Stecker
Symmetry 2017, 9(10), 201; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym9100201 - 25 Sep 2017
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 3047
Abstract
We discuss some of the tests of Lorentz symmetry made possible by astrophysical observations of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays, γ -rays and neutrinos. These are among the most sensitive tests of Lorentz invariance violation because they are the highest energy phenomena known to [...] Read more.
We discuss some of the tests of Lorentz symmetry made possible by astrophysical observations of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays, γ -rays and neutrinos. These are among the most sensitive tests of Lorentz invariance violation because they are the highest energy phenomena known to man. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Violation of Lorentz Symmetry)
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