Synopses & Reviews
After a century of successes, physicists still feel the need to probe the limits of the validity of theories based on special relativity. Canonical approaches to quantum gravity, non-commutative geometry, string theory and unification scenarios predict tiny violations of Lorentz invariance at high energies. The present book, based on a recent seminar devoted to such frontier problems, contains reviews of the foundations of special relativity and the implications of Poincaré invariance as well as comprehensive accounts of experimental results and proposed tests. The book addresses, besides researchers in the field, everyone interested in the conceptual and empirical foundations of our knowledge about space, time and matter.
Review
From the reviews: "In the last decade and a half, many scientists have come to believe that special relativity, as Einstein formulated it, will need to be modified to accommodate a quantum theory of gravity. ... the volume presents an excellent survey of current research on Lorentz symmetry. Most of the book should be accessible to graduate students and researchers who are interested in the field ... . provide abundant references, which should be quite valuable in a field with as many counterintuitive features as Lorentz violation research." (Brett D Altschul, Classical and Quantum Gravity, Vol. 24, 2007)
Synopsis
After about a century of success, physicists feel the need to probe the limits of validity of special-relativity (SR) base theories. Canonical approaches to quantum gravity, non-commutative geometry, string theory and unification scenarios predict tiny violations of Lorentz invariance at high energies. The present book, the outcome of a special seminar held on this topic, gathers in one volume extensive introductions and reviews of the various facets involved and includes also the discussion of philosophical and historical aspects. Beyond the researchers in the field, it addresses everyone interested in the historical and conceptional foundations of our knowledge about space and time.
Synopsis
After about a century of success, physicists feel the need to probe the limits of validity of special-relativity base theories. This book is the outcome of a special seminar held on this topic. The authors gather in a single volume an extensive collection of introductions and reviews of the various facets involved, and also includes detailed discussion of philosophical and historical aspects.
Table of Contents
Historical and Philosophical Aspects.- Foundation and Formalism.- Violations of Lorentz Invariance?- Experimental Search.