Limits to Quantum Gravity Effects on Energy Dependence of the Speed of Light from Observations of TeV Flares in Active Galaxies

S. D. Biller, A. C. Breslin, J. Buckley, M. Catanese, M. Carson, D. A. Carter-Lewis, M. F. Cawley, D. J. Fegan, J. P. Finley, J. A. Gaidos, A. M. Hillas, F. Krennrich, R. C. Lamb, R. Lessard, C. Masterson, J. E. McEnery, B. McKernan, P. Moriarty, J. Quinn, H. J. Rose, F. Samuelson, G. Sembroski, P. Skelton, and T. C. Weekes
Phys. Rev. Lett. 83, 2108 – Published 13 September 1999
PDFExport Citation

Abstract

We have used data from a TeV γ-ray flare associated with the active galaxy Markarian 421 to place bounds on the possible energy dependence of the speed of light in the context of an effective quantum gravitational energy scale. Recent theoretical work suggests that such an energy scale could be less than the Planck mass and perhaps as low as 1016 GeV. The limits derived here indicate this energy scale to be in excess of 6×1016 GeV for at least one approach to quantum gravity in the context of D-brane string theory. To the best of our knowledge, this constitutes the first convincing limit on such phenomena in this energy regime.

  • Received 13 October 1998

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.83.2108

©1999 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

S. D. Biller1, A. C. Breslin2, J. Buckley3, M. Catanese4, M. Carson2, D. A. Carter-Lewis4, M. F. Cawley5, D. J. Fegan2, J. P. Finley6, J. A. Gaidos6, A. M. Hillas7, F. Krennrich4, R. C. Lamb8, R. Lessard6, C. Masterson2, J. E. McEnery9, B. McKernan2, P. Moriarty10, J. Quinn11, H. J. Rose7, F. Samuelson4, G. Sembroski6, P. Skelton7, and T. C. Weekes11

  • 1Oxford University, Oxford, United Kingdom
  • 2University College, Dublin, Ireland
  • 3Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri 63130
  • 4Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011
  • 5Maynooth University, Maynooth, Ireland
  • 6Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907
  • 7University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom
  • 8California Institute of Technology, California 91125
  • 9University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112
  • 10Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology, Galway, Ireland
  • 11Whipple Observatory, Amado, Arizona 85645

References (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand
Issue

Vol. 83, Iss. 11 — 13 September 1999

Reuse & Permissions
Access Options
Author publication services for translation and copyediting assistance advertisement

Authorization Required


×
×

Images

×

Sign up to receive regular email alerts from Physical Review Letters

Log In

Cancel
×

Search


Article Lookup

Paste a citation or DOI

Enter a citation
×