arXiv subjects

Ralf Lehnert

Publications and source records attributed to Ralf Lehnert.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2014

Spacetime-symmetry violations: motivations, phenomenology, and tests

An important open question in fundamental physics concerns the nature of spacetime at distance scales associated with the Planck length. The widespread belief that probing such distances necessitates Planck-energy particles has impeded phenomenological and experimental research in this context. However, it has been realized that various theoretical approaches to underlying physics can accommodate Planck-scale violations of spacetime symmetries. This talk surveys the motivations for spacetime-symmetry research, the SME test framework, and experimental efforts in this field.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2014

On the Critical Exponent of Infinitely Generated Veech Groups

We prove the existence of Veech groups having a critical exponent strictly greater than any elementary Fuchsian group (i.e. $>\frac{1}{2}$) but strictly smaller than any lattice (i.e. $<1$). More precisely, every affine covering of a primitive L-shaped Veech surface $X$ ramified over the singularity and a non-periodic connection point $P\in X$ has such a Veech group. Hubert and Schmidt showed that these Veech groups are infinitely generated and of the first kind. We use a result of Roblin and Tapie which connects the critical exponent of the Veech group of the covering with the Cheeger constant of the Schreier graph of $\mathrm{SL}(X)/\mathrm{Stab}_{\mathrm{SL}(X)}(P)$. The main task is to show that the Cheeger constant is strictly positive, i.e. the graph is non-amenable. In this context, we introduce a measure of the complexity of connection points that helps to simplify the graph to a forest for which non-amenability can be seen easily.

math.GT↗

arXiv2014

Kinematical Lorentz-symmetry tests at particle colliders

Violations of Lorentz symmetry are typically associated with modifications of one-particle dispersion relations. The physical effects of such modifications in particle collisions often grow with energy, so that ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays provide an excellent laboratory for measuring such effects. In this talk we argue that collisions at particle colliders, which involve much smaller energies, can nevertheless yield competitive constraints on Lorentz breaking.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2013

Relativity violations and beta decay

In some quantum theories of gravity, deviations from the laws of relativity could be comparatively large while escaping detection to date. In the neutrino sector, precision experiments with beta decay yield new and improved constraints on these countershaded relativity violations. Existing data are used to extract bounds of $3 \times 10^{-8}$ GeV on the magnitudes of two of the four possible coefficients, and estimates are provided of future attainable sensitivities in a variety of experiments.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2012

Massive photons and Lorentz violation

All quadratic translation- and gauge-invariant photon operators for Lorentz breakdown are included into the Stueckelberg Lagrangian for massive photons in a generalized ξ-gauge. The corresponding dispersion relation and tree-level propagator are determined exactly, and some leading-order results are derived. The question of how to include such Lorentz-violating effects into a perturbative quantum-field expansion is addressed. Applications of these results within Lorentz-breaking quantum field theories include the regularization of infrared divergences as well as the free propagation of massive vector bosons.

hep-th↗

arXiv2011

A mapping between Lorentz-violating and conventional electrodynamics

The Chern-Simons-type term in the photon sector of the Lorentz- and CPT-breaking minimal Standard-Model Extension (mSME) is considered. It is argued that under certain circumstances this term can be removed from the mSME. In particular, it is demonstrated that for lightlike Lorentz violation a field redefinition exists that maps the on-shell free Chern-Simons model to conventional on-shell free electrodynamics. A compact explicit expression for an operator implementing such a mapping is constructed. This expression establishes that the field redefinition is non-local.

hep-th↗

arXiv2011

Violations of Einstein's Relativity: Motivations, Theory, and Phenomenology

One of the most difficult questions in present-day physics concerns a fundamental theory of space, time, and matter that incorporates a consistent quantum description of gravity. There are various theoretical approaches to such a quantum-gravity theory. Nevertheless, experimental progress is hampered in this research field because many models predict deviations from established physics that are suppressed by some power of the Planck scale, which currently appears to be immeasurably small. However, tests of relativity theory provide one promising avenue to overcome this phenomenological obstacle: many models for underlying physics can accommodate a small breakdown of Lorentz symmetry, and numerous feasible Lorentz-symmetry tests have Planck reach. Such mild violations of Einstein's relativity have therefore become a focus of recent research efforts. This presentation provides a brief survey of the key ideas in this research field and is geared at both experimentalists and theorists. In particular, several theoretical mechanisms leading to deviations from relativity theory are presented; the standard theoretical framework for relativity violations at currently accessible energy scales (i.e., the SME) is reviewed, and various present and near-future experimental efforts within this field are discussed.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2011

Relativity tests and their motivation

Some motivations for Lorentz-symmetry tests in the context of quantum-gravity phenomenology are reiterated. The description of the emergent low-energy effects with the Standard-Model Extension (SME) is reviewed. The possibility of constraining such effects with dispersion-relation analyses of collider data is established.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2010

Tests of Lorentz symmetry

A number of approaches to fundamental physics can lead to the violation of Lorentz and CPT symmetry. This talk discusses the low-energy phenomenology associated with such effects and reviews various sample experiments within this context.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2010

Flavor sensitivity to theta_13 and the mass hierarchy for neutrinos from solar WIMP annihilation

The effect of the higher-energy 2nd resonance and the associated adiabatic-to-nonadiabatic transition on neutrino propagation in solar matter is presented. For WIMP-annihilation neutrinos injected with energies in the "sweet region" between 300 MeV and 10 GeV at the Sun's center, a significant and revealing dependence on the neutrino mass hierarchy and the mixing angle theta_13 down to 0.5 degrees is found in the flavor ratios arriving at Earth. In addition, the amplification of flavor ratios in the sweet region allows a better discrimination among possible annihilation modes of the solar dark matter. Under mild assumptions on WIMP properties, it is estimated that 200 neutrino events in the sweet region would be required for inferences of theta_13, the mass hierarchy, and the dominant WIMP annihilation mode. Future large-volume, low-energy neutrino detectors are likely needed if the measurement is to be made.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2009

CPT and Lorentz-invariance violation

The largest gap in our understanding of nature at the fundamental level is perhaps a unified description of gravity and quantum theory. Although there are currently a variety of theoretical approaches to this question, experimental research in this field is inhibited by the expected Planck-scale suppression of quantum-gravity effects. However, the breakdown of spacetime symmetries has recently been identified as a promising signal in this context: a number of models for underlying physics can accommodate minuscule Lorentz and CPT violation, and such effects are amenable to ultrahigh-precision tests. This presentation will give an overview of the subject. Topics such as motivations, the SME test framework, mechanisms for relativity breakdown, and experimental tests will be reviewed. Emphasis is given to observations involving antimatter.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2009

Limits on isotropic Lorentz violation in QED from collider physics

We consider the possibility that Lorentz violation can generate differences between the limiting velocities of light and charged matter. Such effects would lead to efficient vacuum Cherenkov radiation or rapid photon decay. The absence of such effects for 104.5 GeV electrons at the Large Electron Positron collider and for 300 GeV photons at the Tevatron therefore constrains this type of Lorentz breakdown. Within the context of the standard-model extension, these ideas imply an experimental bound at the level of -5.8 x 10^{-12} <= \tildeκ_{tr}-(4/3)c_e^{00} <= 1.2 x 10^{-11} tightening existing laboratory measurements by 3-4 orders of magnitude. Prospects for further improvements with terrestrial and astrophysical methods are discussed.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2009

CPT and Lorentz violation as signatures for Planck-scale physics

In recent years, the breakdown of spacetime symmetries has been identified as a promising research field in the context of Planck-scale phenomenology. For example, various theoretical approaches to the quantum-gravity problem are known to accommodate minute violations of CPT invariance. This talk covers various topics within this research area. In particular, some mechanisms for spacetime-symmetry breaking as well as the Standard-Model Extension (SME) test framework will be reviewed; the connection between CPT and Lorentz invariance in quantum field theory will be exposed; and various experimental CPT tests with emphasis on matter--antimatter comparisons will be discussed.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2009

Particle-accelerator constraints on isotropic modifications of the speed of light

The absence of vacuum Cherenkov radiation for 104.5 GeV electrons and positrons at LEP combined with the observed stability of 300 GeV photons at the Tevatron constrains deviations of the speed of light relative to the maximal attainable speed of electrons. Within the Standard-Model Extension (SME), the limit $-5.8\times10^{-12} \leq \tildeκ_{\rm tr}-{4/3}c_e^{00} \leq 1.2\times10^{-11}$ is extracted, which sharpens previous bounds by more than 3 orders of magnitude. The potential for further refinements of this limit with terrestrial experiments and astrophysical observations is discussed.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2007

Theoretical topics in spacetime-symmetry violations

The Lorentz- and CPT-violating Chern-Simons extension of electrodynamics is considered. In the context of N=4 supergravity in four spacetime dimensions, it is argued that cosmological solutions can generate this extension. Within Chern-Simons electrodynamics, theoretical and phenomenological topics are reviewed that concern the number of the remaining spacetime symmetries and the vacuum Cherenkov effect, respectively.

hep-th↗

arXiv2007

Neutrino flavor ratios as diagnostic of solar WIMP annihilation

We consider the neutrino (and antineutrino) flavors arriving at Earth for neutrinos produced in the annihilation of weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) in the Sun's core. Solar-matter effects on the flavor propagation of the resulting $\agt$ GeV neutrinos are studied analytically within a density-matrix formalism. Matter effects, including mass-state level-crossings, influence the flavor fluxes considerably. The exposition herein is somewhat pedagogical, in that it starts with adiabatic evolution of single flavors from the Sun's center, with $θ_{13}$ set to zero, and progresses to fully realistic processing of the flavor ratios expected in WIMP decay, from the Sun's core to the Earth. In the fully realistic calculation, non-adiabatic level-crossing is included, as are possible nonzero values for $θ_{13}$ and the CP-violating phase $δ$. Due to resonance enhancement in matter, nonzero values of $θ_{13}$ even smaller than a degree can noticeably affect flavor propagation. Both normal and inverted neutrino-mass hierarchies are considered. Our main conclusion is that measuring flavor ratios (in addition to energy spectra) of $\agt$ GeV solar neutrinos can provide discrinination between WIMP models. In particular, we demonstrate the flavor differences at Earth for neutrinos from the two main classes of WIMP final states, namely $W^+ W^-$ and 95% $b \bar{b}$ + 5% $τ^+τ^-$. Conversely, if WIMP properties were to be learned from production in future accelerators, then the flavor ratios of $\agt$ GeV solar neutrinos might be useful for inferring $θ_{13}$ and the mass hierarchy.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2007

Quantum-gravity phenomenology, Lorentz symmetry, and the SME

Violations of spacetime symmetries have recently been identified as promising signatures for physics underlying the Standard Model. The present talk gives an overview over various topics in this field: The motivations for spacetime-symmetry research, including some mechanisms for Lorentz breaking, are reviewed. An effective field theory called the Standard-Model Extension (SME) for the description of the resulting low-energy effects is introduced, and some experimental tests of Lorentz and CPT invariance are listed.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2006

Quantum gravity and spacetime symmetries

Small violations of spacetime symmetries have recently been identified as promising Planck-scale signals. This talk reviews how such violations can arise in various approaches to quantum gravity, how the emergent low-energy effects can be described within the framework of relativistic effective field theories, how suitable tests can be identified, and what sensitivities can be expected in current and near-future experiments.

gr-qc↗