Faster than the speed of light

Was Einstein wrong? The Big Bang, the LHC and the God Particle
Cormac ORaifeartaigh (WIT)

Cormac ORaifeartaigh (WIT)

Overview
I The experiment What, why, how Relativity (special) Theory and experiment Relativity (general) Theory and experiment Skepticism in science
Coda: what if..?

II

III

IV

The OPERA experiment

Beam of neutrinos at CERN Detector under Gran Sasso

Distance of 732 km
Time of flight 2.43 ms Highly respected group Result: early by 60 nanoseconds 0.003% faster than light in vacuum!

Neutrinos
Suggested by Pauli (1930)

Conservation of energy
Zero charge, zero mass

Weak interaction
Skepticism (non-physicists)

Detected in 1956

Neutrinos
Tiny mass (non-zero?) Dark matter? The solar neutrino paradox Three different types Neutrino oscillation Gran Sasso experiment

Change of flavour

Standard Model

neutrino = lighter cousin of electron

The OPERA experiment

OPERA: the numbers

Measurement of distance (GPS) 732 km +/- 20 cm
Time of flight
+/- 10ns

2.43006 +/- 0.00001 ms Velocity = distance/time v/v = 2.5 x 10-5 (25 ppm) Note: proton pulse 10 s long (10,000 ns)

60 ns early (18 m??)

OPERA Snags
Not direct comparison Light does not travel through mountain Accurate measurement of distance Relies on GPS Accurate measurement of time-of-flight Relies on GPS and statistics (pulses)

Relatively short distance/time Need to direct beam at the moon

Systematic error ?

II The theory of relativity (special)

Laws of physics identical for observers in uniform motion Speed of light in vacuum a fundamental constant
Implications for bodies at high speed

Length contraction
Time dilation

L(v) L0 1 v 2 / c 2

t (v) t0 / 1 v 2 / c 2
m(v) m0 / 1 v 2 / c 2

Mass increase

E = mc2

Evidence for relativity

Early experiments Kaufmann, Bucherer Particle accelerators Length contraction Time dilation Mass increase Modern particle accelerators Speed limit Particle creation E = mc2

CERN (Geneva)

energy increase
velocity increase? K.E = 1/2mv2

mass increases

Time dilation: muons

Muons created in upper atmosphere v = 3 x 108 m/s t = 2.2 x 10-6 s (lifetime) d = 660m

Many muons detected at ground level d = 10 km ?

Moving clocks run slow Vampire muon

Relativity skepticism
Extraordinary concept Counter-intuitive Only observable at tremendous speeds Only observable for subatomic particles Speed of light plays role of infinity Simple maths Time and distance calculations Personalization Confusion of discovery and justification Compare: evolution, climate science

Dr Al Kelly Einstein wrong

III The general theory of relativity

General Relativity (1915)
Laws of physics identical for all observers Speed of light in vacuum a universal constant Principle of equivalence

Gravity = curvature of space and time New view of gravity Revolution Cosmological implications

Matter warps space and time

General relativity (experiment)

Predictions Bending of starlight by sun Black holes Expanding universe Geodesic effect Time dilation by gravity Evidence Eddington experiment Astronomy Cosmology (big bang) Everett experiment GPS Breakdown at quantum scales

Relativity and GPS

Signal from satellite

compare time received to transmitted synchronized clocks

Convert time to distance

x speed of radiowaves Triangulation using 4 sources accurate to within 5 metres Assumes constancy of speed of light

GPS: a relativistic correction

Synchronization of satellite/earth clocks
Motion of satellite (SR)

Clocks slow by 7 s/day

Reduced gravity field (GR)

Clocks fast by 45 s/day Satellite clocks fast by 38 s/ day Well-known correction to GPS OPERA - new correction? (18m?)

Skepticism from astronomy

Supernova Huge implosion of massive star Neutrinos released Light delayed Supernova 1987a Neutrinos detected Ahead of light by 3 hours Not by 5 years !

IV Skepticism in science
Many years for new result to be accepted Must be reproducible Must fit known experiments

If so Paradigm shift Slow, gradual process (DJ) Consensus process

Compare: accelerating universe
Thomas Kuhn

The OPERA viewpoint

Despite the large significance of the measurement reported here and the stability of the analysis, the potentially great impact of the result motivates the continuation of our studies in order to investigate possible still unknown systematic effects that could explain the observed anomaly. We deliberately do not attempt any theoretical or phenomenological interpretation of the results Up to half of the members of the OPERA project are opposed to immediately publishing the result in a peer-reviewed journal. They do not believe any known mistakes are being hidden by other members of the group, but are worried about the significant impact to physics of the results. Physics World

Science in the media

Scientific skepticism misunderstood

Attributed to conservatism
Role of evidence misunderstood Balanced debate unweighted Science journalism: news driven
Bjorn Lomborg

Climate skepticism is not scientific

Summary
Extraordinary result Indirect measurement
Contradicts theory Special and general relativity Contradicts experiment Particle experiments Astronomy experiments Extraordinary evidence? X But what if.... ?

What if result stands?

Extra dimensions Shortcut? Doesnt violate relativity

Unified field theory 7 dimensions curled up?

High energy Lightest particles Doesnt contradict previous results

First evidence of string theory ?

Further reading: ANTIMATTER