Planck-Length Phenomenology

TL;DR

This paper offers a model-independent, phenomenological analysis connecting various experiments' sensitivities to the Planck length, providing a unified understanding of space-time 'foamy' properties without relying on specific quantum gravity models.

Contribution

It extends dimensional analysis to relate interferometric, particle accelerator, and astrophysical observations to the Planck length in a model-independent manner.

Findings

Unified connection between experiments and Planck length

Dimensional analysis supports objective sensitivity estimates

Model-independent framework for Planck-scale phenomenology

Abstract

This author's recent proposal of interferometric tests of Planck-scale-related properties of space-time is here revisited from a strictly phenomenological viewpoint. The results announced previously are rederived using elementary dimensional considerations. The dimensional analysis is then extended to the other two classes of experiments (observations of neutral kaons at particle accelerators and observations of the gamma rays we detect from distant astrophysical sources) which have been recently considered as opportunities to explore "foamy" properties of space-time. The emerging picture suggests that there is an objective and intuitive way to connect the sensitivities of these three experiments with the Planck length. While in previous studies the emphasis was always on some quantum-gravity scenario and the analysis was always primarily aimed at showing that the chosen scenario would leave a trace in a certain class of doable experiments, the analysis here reported takes as starting point the experiments and, by relating in a direct quantitative way the sensitivities to the Planck length, provides a model-independent description of the status of Planck-length phenomenology.