Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
1999-07-24
Astrophys.J.535:139-151,2000
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
37 pages LaTeX, 9 eps figures included, uses aasms4.sty
Scientific paper
10.1086/308825
We discuss possible tests of the constancy of the velocity of light using distant astrophysical sources such as gamma-ray bursters (GRBs), Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) and pulsars. This speculative quest may be motivated by some models of quantum fluctuations in the space-time background, and we discuss explicitly how an energy-dependent variation in photon velocity \delta c/ c \sim - E / M arises in one particular quantum-gravitational model. We then discuss how data on GRBs may be used to set limits on variations in the velocity of light, which we illustrate using BATSE and OSSE observations of the GRBs that have recently been identified optically and for which precise redshifts are available. We show how a regression analysis can be performed to look for an energy-dependent effect that should correlate with redshift. The present data yield a limit M \gsim 10^{15} GeV for the quantum gravity scale. We discuss the prospects for improving this analysis using future data, and how one might hope to distinguish any positive signal from astrophysical effects associated with the sources.
Ellis John
Farakos Konstantinos
Mavromatos Nick E.
Mitsou Valia
Nanopoulos Dimitri V.
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