Lorentz violation from gamma-ray burst neutrinos

TL;DR

This paper investigates Lorentz violation effects in ultra-relativistic particles using gamma-ray burst neutrinos, finding evidence for a Lorentz violation scale around 6.5×10^{17} GeV and suggesting neutrino-antineutrino velocity differences.

Contribution

It provides the first evidence linking PeV neutrino observations to Lorentz violation scale consistent with photon-based measurements, proposing opposite LV effects for neutrinos and anti-neutrinos.

Findings

PeV neutrino events follow a linear correlation with LV factor.

Estimated Lorentz violation scale is approximately 6.5×10^{17} GeV.

Neutrinos and anti-neutrinos may be superluminal and subluminal respectively.

Abstract

The Lorentz violation~(LV) effect of ultra-relativistic particles can be tested by gamma-ray burst~(GRB) neutrinos and photons. The IceCube Collaboration has observed plenty of ultra-high energy neutrinos, including four events of PeV scale neutrinos. Recent studies suggested a possible energy dependent speed variation of GRB neutrinos in a similar way to that of GRB photons. Here we find that all four events of PeV neutrinos with associated GRB candidates can satisfy a regularity found from TeV neutrinos about a linear form correlation between the observed time difference and the LV factor. Such regularity indicates a Lorentz violation scale $E_{\rm LV}=(6.5\pm 0.4)\times10^{17}~{\rm GeV}$, which is comparable with that determined by GRB photons. We also suggest that neutrinos and anti-neutrinos can be superluminal and subluminal respectively due to opposite signs of LV correction.