TY - JOUR
T1 - Constraints on Lorentz invariance violation from the extraordinary Mrk 421 flare of 2014 using a novel analysis method
AU - Abe, S.
AU - Abhir, J.
AU - Abhishek, A.
AU - Acciari, V. A.
AU - Aguasca-Cabot, A.
AU - Agudo, I.
AU - Aniello, T.
AU - Ansoldi, S.
AU - Antonelli, L. A.
AU - Arbet Engels, A.
AU - Arcaro, C.
AU - Artero, M.
AU - Asano, K.
AU - Babić, A.
AU - Baquero, A.
AU - Barres de Almeida, U.
AU - Barrio, J. A.
AU - Batković, I.
AU - Bautista, A.
AU - Baxter, J.
AU - Becerra González, J.
AU - Bednarek, W.
AU - Bernardini, E.
AU - Bernete, J.
AU - Berti, A.
AU - Besenrieder, J.
AU - Bigongiari, C.
AU - Biland, A.
AU - Blanch, O.
AU - Bonnoli, G.
AU - Bošnjak, Ž.
AU - Bronzini, E.
AU - Burelli, I.
AU - Busetto, G.
AU - Campoy-Ordaz, A.
AU - Carosi, A.
AU - Carosi, R.
AU - Carretero-Castrillo, M.
AU - Castro-Tirado, A. J.
AU - Cerasole, D.
AU - Ceribella, G.
AU - Chai, Y.
AU - Cifuentes, A.
AU - Colombo, E.
AU - Contreras, J. L.
AU - Cortina, J.
AU - Jormanainen, J.
AU - Kankkunen, S.
AU - Kouch, P. M.
AU - MAGIC Collaboration
PY - 2024/6/1
Y1 - 2024/6/1
N2 - The Lorentz Invariance Violation (LIV), a proposed consequence of certain quantum gravity (QG) scenarios, could instigate an energy-dependent group velocity for ultra-relativistic particles. This energy dependence, although suppressed by the massive QG energy scale E_QG, expected to be on the level of the Planck energy 1.22 × 10
19 GeV, is potentially detectable in astrophysical observations. In this scenario, the cosmological distances traversed by photons act as an amplifier for this effect. By leveraging the observation of a remarkable flare from the blazar Mrk 421, recorded at energies above 100 GeV by the MAGIC telescopes on the night of April 25 to 26, 2014, we look for time delays scaling linearly and quadratically with the photon energies. Using for the first time in LIV studies a binned-likelihood approach we set constraints on the QG energy scale. For the linear scenario, we set 95% lower limits E_QG>2.7×10
17 GeV for the subluminal case and E_QG> 3.6 ×10
17 GeV for the superluminal case. For the quadratic scenario, the 95% lower limits for the subluminal and superluminal cases are E_QG>2.6 ×10
10 GeV and E_QG>2.5×10
10 GeV, respectively.
AB - The Lorentz Invariance Violation (LIV), a proposed consequence of certain quantum gravity (QG) scenarios, could instigate an energy-dependent group velocity for ultra-relativistic particles. This energy dependence, although suppressed by the massive QG energy scale E_QG, expected to be on the level of the Planck energy 1.22 × 10
19 GeV, is potentially detectable in astrophysical observations. In this scenario, the cosmological distances traversed by photons act as an amplifier for this effect. By leveraging the observation of a remarkable flare from the blazar Mrk 421, recorded at energies above 100 GeV by the MAGIC telescopes on the night of April 25 to 26, 2014, we look for time delays scaling linearly and quadratically with the photon energies. Using for the first time in LIV studies a binned-likelihood approach we set constraints on the QG energy scale. For the linear scenario, we set 95% lower limits E_QG>2.7×10
17 GeV for the subluminal case and E_QG> 3.6 ×10
17 GeV for the superluminal case. For the quadratic scenario, the 95% lower limits for the subluminal and superluminal cases are E_QG>2.6 ×10
10 GeV and E_QG>2.5×10
10 GeV, respectively.
KW - Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
KW - High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
U2 - 10.1088/1475-7516/2024/07/044
DO - 10.1088/1475-7516/2024/07/044
M3 - Article
SN - 1475-7516
VL - 2024
JO - Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
JF - Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
IS - 7
M1 - 044
ER -