Particle-accelerator constraints on isotropic modifications of the speed of light.
The absence of vacuum Cherenkov radiation for 104.5 GeV electrons and positrons at the LEP collider at CERN combined with the observed stability of 300 GeV photons at the Tevatron constrains deviations of the speed of light relative to the maximal attainable speed of electrons. Within the standard-model extension, the limit -5.8x10(-12)<or=kappatr-4/3ce00<or=1.2x10(-11) is extracted, which sharpens previous bounds by more than 3 orders of magnitude. The potential for further refinements of this limit with terrestrial experiments and astrophysical observations is discussed.
Hohensee
Michael A
MA
Department of Physics, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA.
Lehnert
Ralf
R
Phillips
David F
DF
Walsworth
Ronald L
RL