Ignoring
gravity
In physics, gravity () is a fundamental interaction which causes mutual attraction between all things with mass or energy. Gravity is, by far, the weakest of the four fundamental interactions, approximately 1038 times weaker than the stro ...
, experimental bounds seem to suggest that
special relativity with its
Lorentz symmetry and
Poincaré symmetry describes spacetime. Surprisingly, Bogoslovsky and independently Cohen and Glashow
[
] have demonstrated that a small subgroup of the
Lorentz group
In physics and mathematics, the Lorentz group is the group of all Lorentz transformations of Minkowski spacetime, the classical and quantum setting for all (non-gravitational) physical phenomena. The Lorentz group is named for the Dutch physicis ...
is sufficient to explain all the current bounds.
The minimal
subgroup
In group theory, a branch of mathematics, given a group ''G'' under a binary operation ∗, a subset ''H'' of ''G'' is called a subgroup of ''G'' if ''H'' also forms a group under the operation ∗. More precisely, ''H'' is a subgroup ...
in question can be described as follows: The
stabilizer of a
null vector
In mathematics, given a vector space ''X'' with an associated quadratic form ''q'', written , a null vector or isotropic vector is a non-zero element ''x'' of ''X'' for which .
In the theory of real bilinear forms, definite quadratic forms an ...
is the
special Euclidean group SE(2), which contains T(2) as the subgroup of
parabolic transformations. This T(2), when extended to include either
parity or
time reversal (i.e. subgroups of the
orthochronous
In physics and mathematics, the Lorentz group is the group of all Lorentz transformations of Minkowski spacetime, the classical and quantum setting for all (non-gravitational) physical phenomena. The Lorentz group is named for the Dutch physicis ...
and time-reversal respectively), is sufficient to give us all the standard predictions. Their new symmetry is called very special relativity (VSR).
See also
*
Lorentz violation
References
Theory of relativity
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