Light speed variation from gamma ray burst GRB 160509A

It is postulated in Einstein's relativity that the speed of light in vacuum is a constant for all observers. However, the effect of quantum gravity could bring an energy dependence of light speed. Even a tiny speed variation, when amplified by the cosmological distance, may be revealed by the o...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Haowei Xu, Bo-Qiang Ma
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2016-09-01
Series:Physics Letters B
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0370269316303859
Description
Summary:It is postulated in Einstein's relativity that the speed of light in vacuum is a constant for all observers. However, the effect of quantum gravity could bring an energy dependence of light speed. Even a tiny speed variation, when amplified by the cosmological distance, may be revealed by the observed time lags between photons with different energies from astrophysical sources. From the newly detected long gamma ray burst GRB 160509A, we find evidence to support the prediction for a linear form modification of light speed in cosmological space.
ISSN:0370-2693
1873-2445