Cosmic Ray and Neutrino Tests of Special Relativity

Sidney Coleman, Sheldon L. Glashow

Published 1997-03-05, updated 1997-04-30Version 3

Searches for anisotropies due to Earth's motion relative to a preferred frame -- modern versions of the Michelson-Morley experiment -- provide precise verifications of special relativity. We describe other tests, independent of this motion, that are or can become even more sensitive. The existence of high-energy cosmic rays places strong constraints on Lorentz non-invariance. Furthermore, if the maximum attainable speed of a particle depends on its identity, then neutrinos, even if massless, may exhibit flavor oscillations. Velocity differences far smaller than any previously probed can produce characteristic effects at accelerators and solar neutrino experiments.