4 research outputs found
Very special relativity as relativity of dark matter: the Elko connection
In the very special relativity (VSR) proposal by Cohen and Glashow, it was
pointed out that invariance under HOM(2) is both necessary and sufficient to
explain the null result of the Michelson-Morely experiment. It is the quantum
field theoretic demand of locality, or the requirement of P, T, CP, or CT
invariance, that makes invariance under the Lorentz group a necessity.
Originally it was conjectured that VSR operates at the Planck scale; we propose
that the natural arena for VSR is at energies similar to the standard model,
but in the dark sector. To this end we provide an ab initio spinor
representation invariant under the SIM(2) avatar of VSR and construct a mass
dimension one fermionic quantum field of spin one half. This field turns out to
be a very close sibling of Elko and it exhibits the same striking property of
intrinsic darkness with respect to the standard model fields. In the new
construct, the tension between Elko and Lorentz symmetries is fully resolved.
We thus entertain the possibility that the symmetries underlying the standard
model matter and gauge fields are those of Lorentz, while the event space
underlying the dark matter and the dark gauge fields supports the algebraic
structure underlying VSR.Comment: 19 pages. Section 5 is new. Published version (modulo a footnote, and
a corrected typo
Tests of Lorentz symmetry using antihydrogen
Signals of CPT and Lorentz violation are possible in the context of
spectroscopy using hydrogen and antihydrogen. We apply the Standard-Model
Extension, a broad framework for Lorentz breaking in physics, to various
transitions in the hydrogen and antihydrogen spectra. The results show an
unsuppressed effect in the transition between the upper two hyperfine sublevels
of the ground state of these systems. We also discuss related tests in Penning
traps, and recent work on Lorentz violation in curved spacetime.Comment: 11pp, invited talk at PQE 37 Conference, Snowbird, Utah, USA, 2-6 Jan
200