Relative Velocity of Light and Radio Waves in Space

Lovell, Bernard; Whipple, Fred L.; Solomon, L. H.

doi:10.1038/202377a0

Cited by 40 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…When the laboratory conditions eventually impose a limit, astronomical events afford the best opportunity for obtaining higher precision measurements on the relative speed of electromagnetic radiation at different wavelengths. The first attempt that took advantage of astronomical distances was the comparison of the arrival time of optical and radio emission from flare stars (Lovell et al 1964), with a constraint on the photon mass of m γ ≤ 1.6 × 10 −42 g. With a measurement of the dispersion in the arrival time of optical wavelengths of 0.35 and 0.55 µm from the Crab Nebula pulsar, a stringent limit on the possible speed dependence on frequency was set (Warner & Nather 1969), but the corresponding limit on the photon mass was only m γ ≤ 5.2×10 −41 g. Assuming that the radio and gamma-ray photons of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) have the same origin and that they are emitted at the same time, Schaefer (1999) set the most stringent limit on the frequency dependence of speed of light up to now, implying a photon mass ≤ 4.2 × 10 −44 g, by analysing the arrival time delay between radio and the gamma-ray emission from GRB 980703 at high redshift.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Constraints on the Photon Mass With Fast Radio Bursts

Zhang

Gao

et al. 2016

ApJL

118

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Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are radio bursts characterized by millisecond durations, high Galactic latitude positions, and high dispersion measures. Very recently, the cosmological origin of FRB 150418 has been confirmed by Keane et al. (2016), and FRBs are now strong competitors as cosmological probes. The simple sharp feature of the FRB signal is ideal for them to probe some of the fundamental laws of physics. Here we show that by analyzing the delay time between different frequencies, the FRB data can place stringent upper limits on the rest mass of the photon. For FRB 150418 at z = 0.492, one can potentially reach m γ ≤ 5.2 × 10 −47 g, which is 10 20 times smaller than the rest mass of electron, and is about 10 3 times smaller than that obtained using other astrophysical sources with the same method.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Constraints on the Photon Mass With Fast Radio Bursts

Zhang

Gao

et al. 2016

ApJL

118

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“…Laboratory and accelerator experiments were not able test for fractional variations in the speed of light (∆c/c) to better than roughly 10 −8 . The first limit that took advantage of astronomical distances compared the arrival time of radio and optical emission from flare stars to constrain ∆c/c < 10 −6 [6]. Then B. Warner and R. Nather measured the phase difference for pulses of the Crab Pulsar between optical wavelengths of 0.35 and 0.55 microns 1 to be less than 10 microseconds [7].…”

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confidence: 99%

Severe Limits on Variations of the Speed of Light with Frequency

1999

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Explosive astrophysical events at high red shift can be used to place severe limits on the fractional variation in the speed of light (∆c/c), the photon mass (m γ ), and the energy scale of quantum gravity (E QG ). I find ∆c/c < 6.3 × 10 −21 based on the simultaneous arrival of a flare in GRB 930229 with a rise time of 220 ± 30µs for photons of 30 keV and 200 keV. The limit on m γ is 4.2 × 10 −44 g for GRB 980703 from radio to gamma ray observations.

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“…detection of UV Ceti. This remarkable discovery was followed immediately by detections of V371 Ori (Slee et al, 1963) and EV Lac (Lovell et^ al., 1964). One might have thought that these unexpected discoveries would have spurred significant interest in this new field but they did not.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Quiescent And Flaring Radio Emission From dMe Stars

Gibson

1983

International Astronomical Union Colloquium

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In reviewing radio studies of M-dwarf flare stars one is struck by the curious way in which the field developed. Indeed, that is twenty years old may be the greatest surprise, for if one imagines the largest solar flares occurring at distances comparable to the nearest stars the expected flux densities would be < 10 mJy. Yet, despite the fact that detection thresholds in 1963 were about two orders of magnitude higher than the expected value, Lovell et al. (1963) made extensive observations and reported the. detection of UV Ceti. This remarkable discovery was followed immediately by detections of V371 Ori (Slee et al., 1963) and EV Lac (Lovell et al., 1964). One might have thought that these unexpected discoveries would have spurred significant interest in this new field but they did not.

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Relative Velocity of Light and Radio Waves in Space

Cited by 40 publications

References 6 publications

Constraints on the Photon Mass With Fast Radio Bursts

Constraints on the Photon Mass With Fast Radio Bursts

Severe Limits on Variations of the Speed of Light with Frequency

Quiescent And Flaring Radio Emission From dMe Stars

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