Sunday, August 16, 2009

FERMI(GLAST) versus LQG-ists...

It was being speculated for a long time since the launch of FERMI (http://fermi.gsfc.nasa.gov/) that Lorentz Invariance Violation (LIV) which is an integral part of Loop Quantum Gravity(LQG) would be tested by FERMI data. I have never studied LQG. After going through first two three pages of Carlo Rovelli's book I had given up. Thus I have no idea how LIV comes out of such theories. Finally as it was expected, FERMI has got some data which apparently make LQG inconsistent. This is what a recent paper by FERMI collaboration titled "Testing Einstein’s special relativity with Fermi’s short hard γ-ray burst GRB090510" says. According to LQG photon speed v_ph is a function of its energy E_ph and can be very different from its low energy limit v_ph = c (E_ph -> 0) at enegies of the order fo Planck mass M_pl or say M_qg. Thus taking high energy photon data from Gamma Ray Bursts (GRB) and then noting down the variation of v_ph from c a lower limit can be set on M_qg. According to this latest paper FERMI data gives rise to the following limit M_qg/M_pl > 120 which contradictory to most quantum gravity scenarios where M_qg <~ M_pl. And it hardly makes any sense to talk about physics at an energy scale beyond Planck scale since at this scale gravity becomes so strong that everything collapses under gravity giving rise to a singularity. However these FERMI predictions may turn out to be wrong which would be a good news for LQG-ists obviously but as of now it seems they are in real trouble....;)

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