225 research outputs found
Threshold configurations in the presence of Lorentz violating dispersion relations
A general characterization of lower and upper threshold configurations for
two particle reactions is determined under the assumptions that the single
particle dispersion relations E(p) are rotationally invariant and monotonic in
p, and that energy and momentum are conserved and additive for multiple
particles. It is found that at a threshold the final particle momenta are
always parallel and the initial momenta are always anti-parallel. The
occurrence of new phenomena not occurring in a Lorentz invariant setting, such
as upper thresholds and asymmetric pair production thresholds, is explained,
and an illustrative example is given.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
Conservation Laws in Doubly Special Relativity
Motivated by various theoretical arguments that the Planck energy (Ep - 10^19
GeV) - should herald departures from Lorentz invariance, and the possibility of
testing these expectations in the not too distant future, two so-called "Doubly
Special Relativity" theories have been suggested -- the first by
Amelino-Camelia (DSR1) and the second by Smolin and Magueijo (DSR2). These
theories contain two fundamental scales -- the speed of light and an energy
usually taken to be Ep. The symmetry group is still the Lorentz group, but in
both cases acting nonlinearly on the energy-momentum sector. Accordingly, since
energy and momentum are no longer additive quantities, finding their values for
composite systems (and hence finding the correct conservation laws) is a
nontrivial matter. Ultimately it is these possible deviations from simple
linearly realized relativistic kinematics that provide the most promising
observational signal for empirically testing these models. Various
investigations have narrowed the conservation laws down to two possibilities
per DSR theory. We derive unique exact results for the energy-momentum of
composite systems in both DSR1 and DSR2, and indicate the general strategy for
arbitrary nonlinear realizations of the Lorentz group.Comment: V2: Extensive revisions: merged with gr-qc/0205093, new author added,
references added, discussion amplified. 4 pages, revtex4; V3: Revised in
response to referee comments; no physics changes; version to appear in
Physical Review
On reaction thresholds in doubly special relativity
Two theories of special relativity with an additional invariant scale,
"doubly special relativity" (DSR), are tested with calculations of particle
process kinematics. Using the Judes-Visser modified conservation laws,
thresholds are studied in both theories. In contrast to some linear
approximations, which allow for particle processes forbidden in special
relativity, both the Amelino-Camelia and Maguejo-Smolin frameworks allow no
additional processes. To first order, the Amelino-Camelia framework thresholds
are lowered and the Maguejo-Smolin framework thresholds may be raised or
lowered.Comment: 13 pages,v3 added comments regarding the assumption of composite
particles,minor wording changes, version to be publishe
Phenomenological description of quantum gravity inspired modified classical electrodynamics
We discuss a large class of phenomenological models incorporating quantum
gravity motivated corrections to electrodynamics. The framework is that of
electrodynamics in a birefringent and dispersive medium with non-local
constitutive relations, which are considered up to second order in the inverse
of the energy characterizing the quantum gravity scale. The energy-momentum
tensor, Green functions and frequency dependent refraction indices are
obtained, leading to departures from standard physics. The effective character
of the theory is also emphasized by introducing a frequency cutoff. The
analysis of its effects upon the standard notion of causality is performed,
showing that in the radiation regime the expected corrections get further
suppressed by highly oscillating terms, thus forbiding causality violations to
show up in the corresponding observational effects.Comment: 14 pages, to be published in Obregon Festschrift 2006, Gen. Rel. and
Gra
Threshold analyses and Lorentz violation
In the context of threshold investigations of Lorentz violation, we discuss
the fundamental principle of coordinate invariance, the role of an effective
dynamical framework, and the conditions of positivity and causality. Our
analysis excludes a variety of previously considered Lorentz-breaking
parameters and opens an avenue for viable dispersion-relation investigations of
Lorentz violation.Comment: 9 page
Corrections to flat-space particle dynamics arising from space granularity
The construction of effective Hamiltonians describing corrections to flat
space particle dynamics arising from the granularity of space at very short
distances is discussed in the framework of an heuristic approach to the
semiclassical limit of loop quantum gravity. After some general motivation of
the subject, a brief non-specialist introduction to the basic tools employed in
the loop approach is presented. The heuristical semiclassical limit is
subsequently defined and the application to the case of photons and spin 1/2
fermions is described. The resulting modified Maxwell and Dirac Hamiltonians,
leading in particular to Planck scale corrections in the energy-momentum
relations, are presented. Alternative interpretations of the results and their
limitations, together with other approaches are briefly discussed along the
text. Three topics related to the above methods are reviewed: (1) The
determination of bounds to the Lorentz violating parameters in the fermionic
sector, obtained from clock comparison experiments.(2) The calculation of
radiative corrections in preferred frames associated to space granularity in
the framework of a Yukawa model for the interactions and (3) The calculation of
synchrotron radiation in the framework of the Myers-Pospelov effective theories
describing Lorentz invariance violations, as well as a generalized approach to
radiation in Planck scale modified electrodynamics. The above exploratory
results show that quantum gravity phenomenology provides observational guidance
in the construction of quantum gravity theories and opens up the possibility of
probing Planck scale physics.Comment: 49 pages, 6 figures and 4 tables. Extended version of the talk given
at the 339-th WE-Heraeus-Seminar: Special Relativity, will it survive the
next 100 years?, Potsdam, february 200
Loop Quantum Gravity and Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays
There are two main sets of data for the observed spectrum of ultra high
energy cosmic rays (those cosmic rays with energies greater than eV), the High Resolution Fly's Eye (HiRes) collaboration group
observations, which seem to be consistent with the predicted theoretical
spectrum (and therefore with the theoretical limit known as the
Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin cutoff), and the observations from the Akeno Giant Air
Shower Array (AGASA) collaboration group, which reveal an abundant flux of
incoming particles with energies above eV violating the
Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin cutoff. As an explanation of this anomaly it has been
suggested that quantum-gravitational effects may be playing a decisive role in
the propagation of ultra high energy cosmic rays. In this article we take the
loop quantum gravity approach. We shall provide some techniques to establish
and analyze new constraints on the loop quantum gravity parameters arising from
both sets of data, HiRes and AGASA . We shall also study their effects on the
predicted spectrum for ultra high energy cosmic rays. As a result we will state
the possibility of reconciling the AGASA observations.Comment: 18 pages, latex, 4 figure
Energy dependence of Ï meson production at forward rapidity in pp collisions at the LHC
The production of mesons has been studied in pp collisions at LHC energies with the ALICE detector via the dimuon decay channel in the rapidity region . Measurements of the differential cross section are presented as a function of the transverse momentum () at the center-of-mass energies , 8 and 13 TeV and compared with the ALICE results at midrapidity. The differential cross sections at and 13 TeV are also studied in several rapidity intervals as a function of , and as a function of rapidity in three intervals. A hardening of the -differential cross section with the collision energy is observed, while, for a given energy, spectra soften with increasing rapidity and, conversely, rapidity distributions get slightly narrower at increasing . The new results, complementing the published measurements at and 7 TeV, allow one to establish the energy dependence of meson production and to compare the measured cross sections with phenomenological models. None of the considered models manages to describe the evolution of the cross section with and rapidity at all the energies.publishedVersio
Ï production in pâPb collisions at âsNN=8.16 TeV
Ï production in pâPb interactions is studied at the centre-of-mass energy per nucleonânucleon collision âsNN = 8.16 TeV with the ALICE detector at the CERN LHC. The measurement is performed reconstructing bottomonium resonances via their dimuon decay channel, in the centre-of-mass rapidity intervals 2.03 < ycms < 3.53 and â4.46 < ycms < â2.96, down to zero transverse momentum. In this work, results on the Ï(1S) production cross section as a function of rapidity and transverse momentum are presented. The corresponding nuclear modification factor shows a suppression of the Ï(1S) yields with respect to pp collisions, both at forward and backward rapidity. This suppression is stronger in the low transverse momentum region and shows no significant dependence on the centrality of the interactions. Furthermore, the Ï(2S) nuclear modification factor is evaluated, suggesting a suppression similar to that of the Ï(1S). A first measurement of the Ï(3S) has also been performed. Finally, results are compared with previous ALICE measurements in pâPb collisions at âsNN = 5.02 TeV and with theoretical calculations.publishedVersio
(Anti-)deuteron production in pp collisions at 1as=13TeV
The study of (anti-)deuteron production in pp collisions has proven to be a powerful tool to investigate the formation mechanism of loosely bound states in high-energy hadronic collisions. In this paper the production of (anti-)deuterons is studied as a function of the charged particle multiplicity in inelastic pp collisions at s=13 TeV using the ALICE experiment. Thanks to the large number of accumulated minimum bias events, it has been possible to measure (anti-)deuteron production in pp collisions up to the same charged particle multiplicity (d Nch/ d \u3b7 3c 26) as measured in p\u2013Pb collisions at similar centre-of-mass energies. Within the uncertainties, the deuteron yield in pp collisions resembles the one in p\u2013Pb interactions, suggesting a common formation mechanism behind the production of light nuclei in hadronic interactions. In this context the measurements are compared with the expectations of coalescence and statistical hadronisation models (SHM)
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