Abstract
Lorentz invariance has served as a guiding principle in constructing fundamental physics theory ever since its validity throughout all areas of physics was established by Einstein's pioneering work on special relativity in 1905. Today it is deeply woven into the structure of quantum field theory, predictions of which have been verified experimentally to astonishing precision. Nevertheless, there have been theoretical suggestions that Lorentz invariance might not be an exact symmetry at all energies. Such ideas have been formulated within theories that aim to provide a fundamental theory beyond the standard-model of particle physics, among them string theory or loop quantum gravity. Thus, a broad range of test experiments is currently pursued, all aiming to detect some minuscule low-energy remnants of a hypothetical violation of Lorentz invariance. The detection of only a tiny such signal might provide important input to the formulation of a theory of quantum gravity.
© 2007 IEEE
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