Quantum-gravity phenomenology, Lorentz symmetry, and the SME

TL;DR

This paper reviews the motivations, theoretical frameworks, especially the Standard-Model Extension, and experimental tests related to potential violations of Lorentz symmetry in the context of quantum gravity phenomenology.

Contribution

It provides an overview of Lorentz symmetry violations, introduces the SME as an effective field theory, and summarizes experimental efforts to test these fundamental symmetries.

Findings

Identification of promising signatures for quantum gravity effects

Introduction of the SME as a comprehensive framework

Summary of experimental tests of Lorentz and CPT invariance

Abstract

Violations of spacetime symmetries have recently been identified as promising signatures for physics underlying the Standard Model. The present talk gives an overview over various topics in this field: The motivations for spacetime-symmetry research, including some mechanisms for Lorentz breaking, are reviewed. An effective field theory called the Standard-Model Extension (SME) for the description of the resulting low-energy effects is introduced, and some experimental tests of Lorentz and CPT invariance are listed.