Ultra-high energy cosmic rays and symmetries of spacetime

• Type: Another Publication in an International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2002

Authors

Bertolami, O (Author) Other

Journal

Title: General Relativity and Gravitation

Vol. 34

Pages: 707-713

ISSN: 0001-7701

Publisher: Springer Nature

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 38 Citations

Scopus - 39 Citations

Scientific classification

FOS: Natural sciences > Physical sciences

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-000-PFN

DOI: 10.1023/a:1015946429950

Abstract (EN): High energy cosmic rays allow probing phenomena that are inaccessible to accelerators. Observation of cosmic rays, presumably protons, with energies beyond 4 x 10(19) eV, the so-called Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin (GZK) cut-off, give origin to two puzzles: How do particles accelerate to such energies? Are their sources within 50-100 Mpc from Earth, or Lorentz invariance is actually a broken symmetry? We suggest an astrophysical test to verify the latter alternative and explore a possible connection with an alternative theory of gravity that exhibits preferred-frame effects.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 7