OPERA neutrinos and relativity

TL;DR

This paper discusses how superluminal neutrinos could evade energy loss via Cherenkov-like processes if Lorentz symmetry is deformed rather than broken, challenging previous arguments against their existence.

Contribution

It demonstrates that Lorentz symmetry deformation, preserving relativity, can prevent anomalous processes affecting superluminal neutrinos, unlike Lorentz symmetry breaking frameworks.

Findings

Deformed Lorentz symmetry forbids Cherenkov-like energy loss processes.

Broken Lorentz symmetry predicts energy loss inconsistent with OPERA observations.

Deformation maintains relativistic invariance while allowing superluminal neutrinos.

Abstract

In a recent study, Cohen and Glashow argue that superluminal neutrinos of the type recently reported by OPERA should be affected by anomalous Cherenkov-like processes. This causes them to loose much of their energy before reaching the OPERA detectors. Related concerns were reported also by Gonzalez-Mestres and Bi et. al., who argued that pions cannot decay to superluminal neutrinos over part of the energy range studied by OPERA. We observe here that these arguments are set within a framework in which Lorentz symmetry is broken, by the presence of a preferred frame. We further show that these anomalous processes are forbidden if Lorentz symmetry is instead "deformed", preserving the relativity of inertial frames. These deformations add non-linear terms to energy momentum relations, conservation laws and Lorentz transformations in a way that is consistent with the relativity of inertial observers.