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Constraints on Lorentz Invariance Violation from Fermi -Large Area Telescope Observations of Gamma-Ray BurstsWe analyze the MeV/GeV emission from four bright Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) observed by the Fermi-Large Area Telescope to produce robust, stringent constraints on a dependence of the speed of light in vacuo on the photon energy (vacuum dispersion), a form of Lorentz invariance violation (LIV) allowed by some Quantum Gravity (QG) theories. First, we use three different and complementary techniques to constrain the total degree of dispersion observed in the data. Additionally, using a maximally conservative set of assumptions on possible source-intrinsic spectral-evolution effects, we constrain any vacuum dispersion solely attributed to LIV. We then derive limits on the "QG energy scale" (the energy scale that LIV-inducing QG effects become important, E(sub QG)) and the coefficients of the Standard Model Extension. For the subluminal case (where high energy photons propagate more slowly than lower energy photons) and without taking into account any source-intrinsic dispersion, our most stringent limits (at 95% CL) are obtained from GRB 090510 and are E(sub QG,1) > 7.6 times the Planck energy (E(sub Pl)) and E(sub QG,2) > 1.3×10(exp 11) GeV for linear and quadratic leading order LIV-induced vacuum dispersion, respectively. These limits improve the latest constraints by Fermi and H.E.S.S. by a factor of approx. 2. Our results disfavor any class of models requiring E(sub QG,1) < or approx. E(sub Pl)
Document ID
20140005679
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Vasileiou, V.
(Montpellier Univ. France)
Jacholkowska, A.
(Paris VI Univ. France)
Piron, F.
(Montpellier Univ. France)
Bolmont, J.
(Paris VI Univ. France)
Courturier, C.
(Paris VI Univ. France)
Granot, J.
(Open Univ. Tel-Aviv, Israel)
Stecker, Floyd William
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD United States)
Cohen-Tanugi, J.
(Montpellier Univ. France)
Longo, F.
(Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare Trieste, Italy)
Date Acquired
May 13, 2014
Publication Date
January 1, 2013
Publication Information
Publisher: Physical Review
Subject Category
Astrophysics
Report/Patent Number
GSFC-E-DAA-TN12702
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.
Keywords
Planck
MeV/GeV
Qusntum Gravity
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