A test of local Lorentz invariance with Compton scattering asymmetry

Abstract

We report on a measurement of the constancy and anisotropy of the speed of light relative to the electrons in photon-electron scattering. We used the Compton scattering asymmetry measured by the new Compton polarimeter in Hall~C at Jefferson Lab to test for deviations from unity of the vacuum refractive index ($n$). For photon energies in the range of 9 - 46 MeV, we obtain a new limit of $1-n<1.4\times 10^{-8}$. In addition, the absence of sidereal variation over the six month period of the measurement constrains any anisotropies in the speed of light. These constitute the first study of Lorentz invariance using Compton asymmetry. Within the minimal standard model extension framework, our result yield limits on the photon and electron coefficients ${\tilde{\kappa }}_{0^{+}}^{YZ},c_{TX},{\tilde{\kappa }}_{0^{+}}^{ZX}$, and $c_{TY}$. Although, these limits are several orders of magnitude larger than the current best limits, they demonstrate the feasibility of using Compton asymmetry for tests of Lorentz invariance. Future parity violating electron scattering experiments at Jefferson Lab will use higher energy electrons enabling better constraints.

arXiv comment7 pages, 5 figures

References in corpus (29)

• Observational Evidence from Supernovae for an Accelerating Universe and a Cosmological Constant
• Cosmological Imprint of an Energy Component with General Equation of State
• Discovery of a Supernova Explosion at Half the Age of the Universe and its Cosmological Implications
• Lorentz-Violating Extension of the Standard Model
• CPT Violation and the Standard Model
• Data Tables for Lorentz and CPT Violation
• Gravity, Lorentz Violation, and the Standard Model
• Quintessence and the Rest of the World
• Signals for Lorentz Violation in Electrodynamics
• CDM Models with a Smooth Component
• Observation of contemporaneous optical radiation from a gamma-ray burst
• GRB 090423 at a redshift of z~8.1
• CPT Violation Implies Violation of Lorentz Invariance
• Cosmological Constraints on Lorentz Violation in Electrodynamics
• Cosmic Ray and Neutrino Tests of Special Relativity
• Dynamical Lambda Models of Structure Formation
• Precision Measurements of the Nucleon Strange Form Factors at Q^2 ~0.1 GeV^2
• First Determination of the Weak Charge of the Proton
• Limits on isotropic Lorentz violation in QED from collider physics
• The Longitudinal Polarimeter at HERA
• Bounding Isotropic Lorentz Violation Using Synchrotron Losses at LEP
• A High-Precision Measurement of the Left-Right Z Boson Cross-Section Asymmetry
• Particle-accelerator constraints on isotropic modifications of the speed of light
• Limits on light-speed anisotropies from Compton scattering of high-energy electrons
• Accurate measurement of the electron beam polarization in JLab Hall A using Compton polarimetry
• First electron beam polarization measurements with a Compton polarimeter at Jefferson Laboratory
• Upgraded photon calorimeter with integrating readout for Hall A Compton Polarimeter at Jefferson Lab
• Testing Planck scale gravity with accelerators
• Possible Observation of Photon Speed Energy Dependence

Cited by in corpus (3)

• Cosmic Ray Extremely Distributed Observatory
• Muon anomalous magnetic moment in the standard model extension
• Lorentz violation parameters and noncommutative scale