Constraining velocity-dependent Lorentz/CPT-violations using Lunar Laser Ranging

TL;DR

This paper uses lunar laser ranging data from 1969 to 2018 to set new, highly precise constraints on Lorentz and CPT symmetry violations in gravity, with no deviations detected.

Contribution

It provides the first constraints on mass dimension 5 Lorentz/CPT-violating operators using lunar laser ranging data within the SME framework.

Findings

No deviation from Lorentz/CPT symmetry was observed.

Constraints on 15 SME coefficients were improved up to three orders of magnitude.

A comprehensive analysis including systematic uncertainty estimation was performed.

Abstract

The possibility for Lorentz/CPT-breaking, which is motivated by unification theories, can be systematically tested within the standard-model extension framework. In the pure gravity sector, the mass dimension 5 operators produce new Lorentz and CPT-breaking terms in the 2-body equations of motion that depend on the relative velocity of the bodies. In this Letter, we report new constraints on 15 independent SME coefficients for Lorentz/CPT-violations with mass dimension 5 using lunar laser ranging. We perform a global analysis of lunar ranging data within the SME framework using more than 26,000 normal points between 1969 and 2018. We also perform a jackknife analysis in order to provide realistic estimates of the systematic uncertainties. No deviation from Lorentz/CPT symmetries is reported. In addition, when fitting simultaneously for the 15 canonical SME coefficients for Lorentz/CPT-violations, we improve up to three orders of magnitude previous post-fit constraints from radio pulsars.