Breaking Of Lorentz Invariance Research Articles

Photon splitting bound on Lorentz Violation in QED from multi-TeV photon observation.

We calculate the width of photon splitting to three photons in a special model of quantum electrodynamics with broken Lorentz invariance. This process may lead to a sharp cut-off in a photon spectrum of a given astrophysical source. Analysing experimental data, we set a constraint on Lorentz-violating mass scale from the absence of such cut-off in the Crab Nebula spectrum.

Experimental evidence for type-II Dirac semimetal in PtSe2

Topological semimetals have attracted extensive research interests for realizing condensed matter physics counterparts of three-dimensional Dirac and Weyl fermions, which were originally introduced in high energy physics. Recently it has been proposed that type-II Dirac semimetal can host a new type of Dirac fermions which break Lorentz invariance and therefore does not have counterpart in high energy physics. Here we report the electronic structure of high quality PtSe$_2$ crystals to provide direct evidence for the existence of three-dimensional type-II Dirac fermions. A comparison of the crystal, vibrational and electronic structure to a sister compound PtTe$_2$ is also discussed. Our work provides an important platform for exploring the novel quantum phenomena in the PtSe$_2$ class of type-II Dirac semimetals.

No static black hole hairs in gravitational theories with broken Lorentz invariance

In this paper, we revisit the issue of static hairs of black holes in gravitational theories with broken Lorentz invariance in the case that the speed $c_{\phi}$ of the khronon field becomes infinitely large, $c_{\phi} = \infty$, for which the sound horizon of the khronon field coincides with the universal horizon, and the boundary conditions at the sound horizon reduce to those given normally at the universal horizons. As a result, less boundary conditions are present in this extreme case in comparison with the case $c_{\phi} = $ finite. Then, it would be expected that static hairs might exist. However, we show analytically that even in this case static hairs still cannot exist, based on a decoupling limit analysis. We also consider the cases in which $c_{\phi}$ is finite but with $c_{\phi} \gg 1$, and obtain the same conclusion.

Heat kernel methods for Lifshitz theories

We study the one-loop covariant effective action of Lifshitz theories using the heat kernel technique. The characteristic feature of Lifshitz theories is an anisotropic scaling between space and time. This is enforced by the existence of a preferred foliation of space-time, which breaks Lorentz invariance. In contrast to the relativistic case, covariant Lifshitz theories are only invariant under diffeomorphisms preserving the foliation structure. We develop a systematic method to reduce the calculation of the effective action for a generic Lifshitz operator to an algorithm acting on known results for relativistic operators. In addition, we present techniques that drastically simplify the calculation for operators with special properties. We demonstrate the efficiency of these methods by explicit applications.

Equivalence between bumblebee models and electrodynamics in a nonlinear gauge

Bumblebee models are effective field theories describing a vector field with a nonzero vacuum expectation value that spontaneously breaks Lorentz invariance. They provide an alternative way of exploring the similarities between theories with spontaneous Lorentz symmetry breaking and gauge theories. The equivalence between bumblebee models with suitable conditions and standard electrodynamics in a non-linear gauge $A_\mu A^\mu-b^2=0$ is taken for granted; however, this point is very subtle and has not yet been fully addressed. The main goal of this paper is to fill in this gap. More precisely, here we study the relation between a bumblebee model, with a smooth potential of the form $V(B _{\mu}) = V (B _{\mu} B ^{\mu} - b ^{2})$, and standard electrodynamics in the non-linear gauge $A _{\mu} A ^{\mu} - b ^{2} = 0$, both at the classical and quantum levels. Using the Dirac's method we show that after introducing Dirac brackets with suitable initial conditions, the classical dynamics of the bumblebee model corresponds to that of standard electrodynamics in the aforementioned non-linear gauge. In the quantum case we demonstrate that perturbative calculations of Feynman amplitudes to any physical process in each model are indistinguishable. To do this, we show that the Feynman rules and propagators of standard electrodynamics in the non-linear gauge and those describing the bumblebee model are the same.

Speed of gravitational waves and the fate of scalar-tensor gravity

The direct detection of gravitational waves (GWs) is an invaluable new tool to probe gravity and the nature of cosmic acceleration. A large class of scalar-tensor theories predict that GWs propagate with velocity different than the speed of light, a difference that can be $\mathcal{O}(1)$ for many models of dark energy. We determine the conditions behind the anomalous GW speed, namely that the scalar field spontaneously breaks Lorentz invariance and couples to the metric perturbations via the Weyl tensor. If these conditions are realized in nature, the delay between GW and electromagnetic (EM) signals from distant events will run beyond human timescales, making it impossible to measure the speed of GWs using neutron star mergers or other violent events. We present a robust strategy to exclude or confirm an anomalous speed of GWs using eclipsing binary systems, whose EM phase can be exquisitely determined. he white dwarf binary J0651+2844 is a known example of such system that can be used to probe deviations in the GW speed as small as $c_g/c-1\gtrsim 2\cdot 10^{-12}$ when LISA comes online. This test will either eliminate many contender models for cosmic acceleration or wreck a fundamental pillar of general relativity.

Hořava gravity at a Lifshitz point: A progress report

Hořava’s quantum gravity at a Lifshitz point is a theory intended to quantize gravity by using traditional quantum field theories. To avoid Ostrogradsky’s ghosts, a problem that has been facing in quantization of general relativity since the middle of 1970’s, Hořava chose to break the Lorentz invariance by a Lifshitz-type of anisotropic scaling between space and time at the ultra-high energy, while recovering (approximately) the invariance at low energies. With the stringent observational constraints and self-consistency, it turns out that this is not an easy task, and various modifications have been proposed, since the first incarnation of the theory in 2009. In this review, we shall provide a progress report on the recent development of Hořava gravity. In particular, we first present four so far most-studied versions of Hořava gravity, by focusing first on their self-consistency and then their consistency with experiments, including the solar system tests and cosmological observations. Then, we provide a general review on the recent development of the theory in three different but also related areas: (i) universal horizons, black holes and their thermodynamics, (ii) nonrelativistic gauge/gravity duality and (iii) quantization of the theory. The studies in these areas can be easily generalized to other gravitational theories with broken Lorentz invariance.

Disorder-induced phase transitions of type-II Weyl semimetals

Weyl semimetals are a newly discovered class of materials that host relativistic massless Weyl fermions as their low-energy bulk excitations. Among this new class of materials, there exist two general types of semimetals that are of particular interest: type-I Weyl semimetals, that have broken inversion or time-reversal symmetry symmetry, and type-II Weyl semimetals, that additionally breaks Lorentz invariance. In this work, we use Born approximation to analytically demonstrate that the type-I Weyl semimetals may undergo a quantum phase transition to type-II Weyl semimetals in the presence of the finite charge and magnetic disorder when non-zero tilt exist. The phase transition occurs when the disorder renormalizes the topological mass, thereby reducing the Fermi velocity near the Weyl cone below the tilt of the cone. We also confirm the presence of the disorder induced phase transition in Weyl semimetals using exact diagonalization of a three-dimensional tight-binding model to calculate the resultant phase diagram of the type-I Weyl semimetal.

Minimal models for topological Weyl semimetals

Topological Weyl semimetals (TWS) can be classified as type-I TWS, in which the density of states vanishes at the Weyl nodes, and type-II TWS where an electron and a hole pocket meet with finite density of states at the nodal energy. The dispersions of type-II Weyl nodes are tilted and break Lorentz invariance, allowing for physical properties distinct from those in a type-I TWS. We present minimal lattice models for both time-reversal-breaking and inversion-breaking type-II Weyl semimetals, and investigate their bulk properties and topological surface states. These lattice models capture the extended Fermi pockets and the connectivities of Fermi arcs. In addition to the Fermi arcs, which are topologically protected, we identify surface "track states" that arise out of the topological Fermi arc states at the transition from type-I to type-II with multiple Weyl nodes, and persist in the type-II TWS.

Supersymmetric models with broken Lorentz invariance.

Several supersymmetric theories with broken Lorentz invariance are considered. We study at the component level Lorentz violating representations of the supersymmetry algebra and construct Lagrangians for the scalar and vector supermultiplets with broken Lorentz invariance. Lorentz violating model for the gravitational supermultiplet is constructed using the superfield formalism as supersymmetric extension of the linearized Einstein-aether theory. The most general Lagrangian of the linearized Einstein-aether supergravity is constructed. We show that the Lagrangian for this model is unique and obtain its bosonic part in components. The constraints imposed by supersymmetry on the parameters of the theory are obtained. The phenomenological consequences of the model are discussed.

A spectre is haunting the cosmos: quantum stability of massive gravity with ghosts

Many theories of modified gravity with higher order derivatives are usually ignored because of serious problems that appear due to an additional ghost degree of freedom. Most dangerously, it causes an immediate decay of the vacuum. However, breaking Lorentz invariance can cure such abominable behavior. By analyzing a model that describes a massive graviton together with a remaining Boulware-Deser ghost mode we show that even ghostly theories of modified gravity can yield models that are viable at both classical and quantum levels and, therefore, they should not generally be ruled out. Furthermore, we identify the most dangerous quantum scattering process that has the main impact on the decay time and find differences to simple theories that only describe an ordinary scalar field and a ghost. Additionally, constraints on the parameters of the theory including some upper bounds on the Lorentz-breaking cutoff scale are presented. In particular, for a simple theory of massive gravity we find that a breaking of Lorentz invariance is allowed to happen even at scales above the Planck mass. Finally, we discuss the relevance to other theories of modified gravity.

Experimental observation of topological Fermi arcs in type-II Weyl semimetal MoTe2

Weyl semimetal is a new quantum state of matter [1-12] hosting the condensed matter physics counterpart of relativisticWeyl fermion [13] originally introduced in high energy physics. The Weyl semimetal realized in the TaAs class features multiple Fermi arcs arising from topological surface states [10, 11, 14-16] and exhibits novel quantum phenomena, e.g., chiral anomaly induced negative mag-netoresistance [17-19] and possibly emergent supersymmetry [20]. Recently it was proposed theoretically that a new type (type-II) of Weyl fermion [21], which does not have counterpart in high energy physics due to the breaking of Lorentz invariance, can emerge as topologically-protected touching between electron and hole pockets. Here, we report direct spectroscopic evidence of topological Fermi arcs in the predicted type-II Weyl semimetal MoTe2 [22-24]. The topological surface states are confirmed by directly observing the surface states using bulk-and surface-sensitive angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), and the quasi-particle interference (QPI) pattern between the two putative Fermi arcs in scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). Our work establishes MoTe2 as the first experimental realization of type-II Weyl semimetal, and opens up new opportunities for probing novel phenomena such as exotic magneto-transport [21] in type-II Weyl semimetals.

Static and rotating universal horizons and black holes in gravitational theories with broken Lorentz invariance

In this paper, we show the existence of static and rotating universal horizons and black holes in gravitational theories with the broken Lorentz invariance. We pay particular attention on the ultraviolet regime, and show that universal horizons and black holes exist not only in low energy scales but also in the UV scales. This is realized by presenting various static and stationary exact solutions of the full theory of the projectable Ho\v{r}ava gravity with an extra U(1) symmetry in (2+1)-dimensions, which, by construction, is power-counting renormalizable.

Ostrogradsky in theories with multiple fields

We review how the (absence of) Ostrogradsky instability manifests itself in theories with multiple fields. It has recently been appreciated that when multiple fields are present, the existence of higher derivatives may not automatically imply the existence of ghosts. We discuss the connection with gravitational theories like massive gravity and beyond Horndeski which manifest higher derivatives in some formulations and yet are free of Ostrogradsky ghost. We also examine an interesting new class of Extended Scalar-Tensor Theories of gravity which has been recently proposed. We show that for a subclass of these theories, the tensor modes are either not dynamical or are infinitely strongly coupled. Among the remaining theories for which the tensor modes are well-defined one counts one new model that is not field-redefinable to Horndeski via a conformal and disformal transformation but that does require the vacuum to break Lorentz invariance. We discuss the implications for the effective field theory of dark energy and the stability of the theory. In particular we find that if we restrict ourselves to the Extended Scalar-Tensor class of theories for which the tensors are well-behaved and the scalar is free from gradient or ghost instabilities on FLRW then we recover Horndeski up to field redefinitions.

QCD breaks Lorentz invariance and colour

In the previous work [A. P. Balachandran and S. Vaidya, Eur. Phys. J. Plus 128, 118 (2013)], we have argued that the algebra of non-Abelian superselection rules is spontaneously broken to its maximal Abelian subalgebra, that is, the algebra generated by its completing commuting set (the two Casimirs, isospin and a basis of its Cartan subalgebra). In this paper, alternative arguments confirming these results are presented. In addition, Lorentz invariance is shown to be broken in quantum chromodynamics (QCD), just as it is in quantum electrodynamics (QED). The experimental consequences of these results include fuzzy mass and spin shells of coloured particles like quarks, and decay life times which depend on the frame of observation [D. Buchholz, Phys. Lett. B 174, 331 (1986); D. Buchholz and K. Fredenhagen, Commun. Math. Phys. 84, 1 (1982; J. Fröhlich, G. Morchio and F. Strocchi, Phys. Lett. B 89, 61 (1979); A. P. Balachandran, S. Kürkçüoğlu, A. R. de Queiroz and S. Vaidya, Eur. Phys. J. C 75, 89 (2015); A. P. Balachandran, S. Kürkçüoğlu and A. R. de Queiroz, Mod. Phys. Lett. A 28, 1350028 (2013)]. In a paper under preparation, these results are extended to the ADM Poincaré group and the local Lorentz group of frames. The renormalisation of the ADM energy by infrared gravitons is also studied and estimated.

Supergravity with broken Lorentz invariance

The supersymmetric extension of the Lorentz violating Einstein-aether theory of gravity is considered. The most general Lagrangian of the linearized Einstein-aether supergravity is constructed using the superfield formalism. The constraints imposed by supersymmetry on the parameters of the theory are obtained.

Cosmology in(1+1)-dimensional Hořava-Lifshitz theory of gravity

The $(1+1)$-dimensional Friedmann-Robertson-Walker (FRW) universe filled with a perfect fluid with equation of state $p=\omega \rho$ is analyzed through the view of Ho\v rava-Lifshitz (HL) theory of gravity. In this theory, the anisotropic scaling of space and time breaks Lorentz invariance of General Relativity (GR) in such a way that the gravitational action is no longer a topological invariant and the theory becomes dynamical. With the introduction of a perfect fluid through Schutz formalism, it is shown that the resulting dynamical theory is very similar to the two-dimensional Jackiw-Teitelboim (JT) model, where a dilatonic degree of freedom is introduced to force a dynamical theory. However, in HL theory, the introduction of a dilaton field is not necessary.

Hawking radiation in the presence of high-momentum dissipation

We study the Hawking radiation in field theories which break Lorentz invariance via dissipative effects above a certain energy scale. We assume that the additional degrees of freedom which cause dissipation are Gaussian and freely falling. The asymptotic spectrum and the correlations are extracted from the anticommutator of the radiation field. The singular behavior of the Green function found for relativistic fields as one point crosses the horizon is completely suppressed by dissipation. Yet, when the dissipative frequency scale is much larger than the surface gravity of the black hole, we show that the asymptotic observables acquire their standard (relativistic) vacuum expectation values. We explicitly compute the effects of dissipation on the spectrum and on the nonseparable character of the correlations when varying the dissipative scale, the extension of the near-horizon geometry, and the temperature of the environment.

Anti-de Sitter momentum space

We investigate the anti-de Sitter (AdS) counterpart to the well-studied de Sitter (dS) model for energy-momentum space, viz ``$\ensuremath{\kappa}$-momentum space'' space (with a structure based on the properties of the $\ensuremath{\kappa}$-Poincar\'e Hopf algebra). On the basis of previous preliminary results one might expect the two models to be complementary: dS exhibiting an invariant maximal spatial momentum but unbounded energy, AdS a maximal energy but unbounded momentum. If that were the case AdS momentum space could be used to implement a principle of maximal Planck-scale energy, just as several studies use dS momentum space to postulate of maximal Planck-scale spatial momentum. However, several unexpected features are uncovered in this paper, which limit the scope of the expected complementarity, and interestingly they take different forms in different coordinatizations of AdS momentum space. ``Cosmological'' AdS coordinates mimic the dS construction used for $\ensuremath{\kappa}$-momentum space, and produce a Carrol limit in the ultraviolet. However, unlike the $\ensuremath{\kappa}$-momentum space, the boundary of the covered patch breaks Lorentz invariance, thereby introducing a preferred frame. In ``horospherical'' coordinates we achieve full consistency with frame independence as far as boost transformations are concerned, but find that rotational symmetry is broken, leading to an anisotropic model for the speed of light. Finally, in ``static'' coordinates we find a way of deforming relativistic transformations that successfully enforces frame invariance and isotropy, and produces a Carrol limit in the ultraviolet. Our results are also relevant for a long-standing debate on whether or not coordinate redefinitions in momentum space lead to physically equivalent theories: our three proposals are evidently physically inequivalent, leading to alternative models of Planck-scale effects. As a corollary we study the UV running of the Hausdorff dimension of momentum space in the first and third model, obtaining different results.

Hawking radiation with dispersion: The broadened horizon paradigm

To identify what replaces the key notion of black hole horizon when working with theories which break Lorentz invariance at high energy, we study the modes responsible for the Hawking effect in the presence of high frequency dispersion. We show that they are regularized across the horizon over a short length which only depends on the scale of dispersion and the surface gravity. Moreover, outside this width, short and long wavelength modes no longer mix. These results can be used to show that the spectrum is hardly modified by dispersion as long as the background geometry does not vary significantly over this length. For relevant frequencies, the regularization differs from the usual WKB resolution of wave singularity near a turning point.