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Very special relativity
Andrew G Cohen1, Sheldon L Glashow
1Physics Department, Boston University, Massachusetts 02215, USA. cohen@bu.edu
Physical Review Letters
|August 16, 2006
Summary
Very special relativity (VSR) offers a framework that mimics special relativity (SR) while allowing for potential violations of Lorentz invariance. Experiments are proposed to detect these subtle, yet significant, deviations from established physics.
Area of Science:
- Theoretical Physics
- Spacetime Symmetries
- Lorentz Invariance
Background:
- Special relativity (SR) is founded on the principle of Lorentz invariance.
- Very special relativity (VSR) explores alternative spacetime symmetries.
- VSR considers proper subgroups of the Poincaré group, altering standard symmetries.
Purpose of the Study:
- To define and analyze Very Special Relativity (VSR) as a theoretical framework.
- To investigate the relationship between VSR and Special Relativity (SR).
- To identify conditions under which VSR deviates from SR and allows for Lorentz violation.
Main Methods:
- Defined VSR based on specific subgroups of the Poincaré group.
- Analyzed VSR within the context of local quantum field theory and conservation laws.
- Examined the implications of VSR for the consequences of Lorentz invariance.
Main Results:
- VSR implies SR under the assumptions of local quantum field theory or conservation.
- In the absence of these assumptions, VSR acts as a simulacrum of SR.
- Most consequences of Lorentz invariance remain intact in VSR, but some searches for violations may fail.
Conclusions:
- VSR provides a theoretical framework that closely resembles SR but allows for potential violations of Lorentz invariance.
- The study highlights that many sensitive searches for Lorentz violation might be insensitive to VSR effects.
- Feasible experiments are proposed to detect potential Lorentz-violating effects within the VSR framework.
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