Phenomenology of Space-time Imperfection I: Nonlocal Defects

TL;DR

This paper develops a phenomenological model to study how nonlocal space-time defects, arising from emergent space-time theories, affect particle propagation while maintaining average Lorentz-invariance, and derives experimental constraints on defect density.

Contribution

It introduces a novel phenomenological framework for nonlocal space-time defects that preserves average Lorentz-invariance and connects theoretical models with experimental constraints.

Findings

Constraints on defect density from experiments

Model preserves Lorentz-invariance on average

Implications for emergent space-time theories

Abstract

If space-time is emergent from a fundamentally non-geometric theory it will generically be left with defects. Such defects need not respect the locality that emerges with the background. Here, we develop a phenomenological model that parameterizes the effects of nonlocal defects on the propagation of particles. In this model, Lorentz-invariance is preserved on the average. We derive constraints on the density of defects from various experiments.