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Full-Text Articles in Physics
Why Cerenkov Radiation May Not Occur, Even When It Is Allowed By Lorentz-Violating Kinematics, Brett Altschul
Why Cerenkov Radiation May Not Occur, Even When It Is Allowed By Lorentz-Violating Kinematics, Brett Altschul
Faculty Publications
In a Lorentz-violating quantum field theory, the energy-momentum relations for the field quanta are typically modified. This affects the kinematics, and processes that are normally forbidden may become allowed. One reaction that clearly becomes kinematically possible when photons’ phase speeds are less than 1 is vacuum Cerenkov radiation. However, in spite of expectations, and in defiance of phase space estimates, a electromagnetic Chern–Simons theory with a timelike Lorentz violation coefficient does not feature any energy losses through Cerenkov emission. There is an unexpected cancelation, made possible by the existence of unstable long-wavelength modes of the field. The fact that the …
Velocity-Dependent Inverse Cubic Force And Solar System Gravity Tests, Quentin G. Bailey, Daniel Havert
Velocity-Dependent Inverse Cubic Force And Solar System Gravity Tests, Quentin G. Bailey, Daniel Havert
Publications
Higher mass dimension terms in an effective field theory framework for tests of spacetime symmetries are studied. Using a post-Newtonian expansion method, we derive the spacetime metric and the equations of motion for a binary system. This reveals an effective inverse cubic force correction to post-Newtonian general relativity that depends on the velocity of the bodies in the system. The results are studied in the context of laboratory and space-based tests including the effects on solar-system ephemeris, laser ranging observations, and gravimeter tests. This work reveals the coefficient combinations for mass dimension 5 operators controlling CPT violation for gravity that …