Does OPERA probe that the Earth is moving ?

TL;DR

The paper discusses the OPERA neutrino experiment's surprising result of neutrinos arriving earlier than expected, proposing a potential systematic error explanation rather than Earth movement.

Contribution

It introduces a possible overlooked systematic effect that could explain the OPERA anomaly, challenging the interpretation of neutrinos traveling faster than light.

Findings

Suggests a systematic effect not considered in the original analysis

Proposes a test to confirm the systematic effect

Questions the interpretation of superluminal neutrinos

Abstract

The OPERA experiment reported recently a puzzling result. The time of flight of a neutrino beam between the CERN and the Gran Sasso Laboratory has been measured to be slightly shorter than expected. More precisely, an early arrival time of the neutrino with respect to the one computed assuming the speed of light in vacuum of 60.7 ns was measured, with a quite high confidence level. Alternatively, one can conclude that the neutrinos travelled 18.2 m more than light would do in vacuum. In this short paper, we suggest a possible systematic effect that does not appear in the analysis and which can easily been probed to be confirmed.