Hierarchical Test of Lorentz Invariance with Gamma-Ray Burst Spectral-Lag Measurements

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Du, Shen-Shi, Gong, Yi, Wei, Jun-Jie, Liu, Zi-Ke, You, Zhi-Qiang, Meng, Yan-Zhi, Zhu, Xing-Jiang
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Du, Shen-Shi
Gong, Yi
Wei, Jun-Jie
Liu, Zi-Ke
You, Zhi-Qiang
Meng, Yan-Zhi
Zhu, Xing-Jiang
author_facet Du, Shen-Shi
Gong, Yi
Wei, Jun-Jie
Liu, Zi-Ke
You, Zhi-Qiang
Meng, Yan-Zhi
Zhu, Xing-Jiang
contents Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are among the most potent probes of Lorentz invariance violation (LIV), offering direct constraints on the quantum gravity energy scale ($E_{\rm QG}$) based on observations of energy-dependent time lags. Individual GRBs with well-defined positive-to-negative lag transitions have been used to set lower limits on $E_{\rm QG}$, but they suffer from uncertainties of spectral-lag measurements and systematics due to theoretical modeling of each burst. Here, we combine observations of 32 GRBs with positive-to-negative lag transitions to derive a statistically robust constraint on $E_{\rm QG}$ through hierarchical Bayesian inference. We find that the dominant systematic uncertainty in LIV constraints arises from the intrinsic lag modeling. Accounting for this uncertainty with cubic spline interpolation, we derive robust limits of $E_{\rm QG,1} \ge 4.37 \times 10^{16}$~GeV for linear LIV and $E_{\rm QG,2} \ge 3.02 \times 10^{8}$~GeV for quadratic LIV. We find that the probability for LIV, i.e., $E_{\rm QG,1}$ being below the Planck scale, is estimated to be around 90\%, which we conclude as no significant evidence for LIV signatures in current GRB spectral lag observations. Our hierarchical approach provides a rigorous statistical framework for future LIV searches and can be extended to incorporate multi-messenger observations.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2512_22875
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Hierarchical Test of Lorentz Invariance with Gamma-Ray Burst Spectral-Lag Measurements
Du, Shen-Shi
Gong, Yi
Wei, Jun-Jie
Liu, Zi-Ke
You, Zhi-Qiang
Meng, Yan-Zhi
Zhu, Xing-Jiang
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are among the most potent probes of Lorentz invariance violation (LIV), offering direct constraints on the quantum gravity energy scale ($E_{\rm QG}$) based on observations of energy-dependent time lags. Individual GRBs with well-defined positive-to-negative lag transitions have been used to set lower limits on $E_{\rm QG}$, but they suffer from uncertainties of spectral-lag measurements and systematics due to theoretical modeling of each burst. Here, we combine observations of 32 GRBs with positive-to-negative lag transitions to derive a statistically robust constraint on $E_{\rm QG}$ through hierarchical Bayesian inference. We find that the dominant systematic uncertainty in LIV constraints arises from the intrinsic lag modeling. Accounting for this uncertainty with cubic spline interpolation, we derive robust limits of $E_{\rm QG,1} \ge 4.37 \times 10^{16}$~GeV for linear LIV and $E_{\rm QG,2} \ge 3.02 \times 10^{8}$~GeV for quadratic LIV. We find that the probability for LIV, i.e., $E_{\rm QG,1}$ being below the Planck scale, is estimated to be around 90\%, which we conclude as no significant evidence for LIV signatures in current GRB spectral lag observations. Our hierarchical approach provides a rigorous statistical framework for future LIV searches and can be extended to incorporate multi-messenger observations.
title Hierarchical Test of Lorentz Invariance with Gamma-Ray Burst Spectral-Lag Measurements
topic High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.22875