Related papers: Testing Relativity at High Energies Using Spacebor…
X-ray and gamma-ray observations of astrophysical objects at cosmological distances can be used to probe the energy dependence of the speed of light with high accuracy and to search for violations of Lorentz invariance and CPT symmetry at…
The topic of Lorentz invariance violation is a fundamental question in physics that has taken on particular interest in theoretical explorations of quantum gravity scenarios. I discuss various gamma-ray observations that give limits on…
The assumption of Lorentz invariance is one of the founding principles of Modern Physics and violation of it would have profound implications to our understanding of the universe. For instance, certain theories attempting a unified theory…
The design of spaceborne high-energy (E>100 MeV) gamma-ray detectors depends on two principal factors: (1) the basic physics of detecting and measuring the properties of the gamma rays; and (2) the constraints of operating such a detector…
Very high-energy gamma-ray measurements of distant blazars can be well explained by secondary gamma rays emitted by cascades induced by ultra-high-energy cosmic rays. The secondary gamma rays will enable one to detect a large number of…
The EGRET telescope has identified a gamma-ray source at the Galactic center. We point out here that the spectral features of this source are compatible with the gamma-ray flux induced by pair annihilations of dark matter weakly interacting…
Observations of high energy neutrinos, both in the laboratory and from cosmic sources, can be a useful probe in searching for new physics. Such observations can provide sensitive tests of Lorentz invariance violation (LIV), which may be a…
We compute in detail the absorption optical depth for astrophysical $\gamma$-ray photons interacting with solar photons to produce electron positron pairs. This effect is greatest for $\gamma$-ray sources at small angular distances from the…
Distant BL Lacertae objects emit $\gamma$ rays which interact with the extragalactic background light (EBL), creating electron-positron pairs, and reducing the flux measured by ground-based imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes (IACTs)…
The tiny modification of dispersion relation induced by Lorentz violation (LV) is an essential issue in quantum gravity (QG) theories, which can be magnified into significant effects when dealing with astrophysical observations at high…
Very Large Area gamma-ray Space Telescope (VLAST) is the next-generation flagship space observatory for high-energy gamma-ray detection proposed by China. The observation energy range covers from MeV to TeV and beyond, with acceptance of 10…
In preparation for GLAST, we have compiled a sample of blazar candidates to increase the pool of well studied AGN from which GLAST counterparts will be drawn. Sources were selected with our Figure of Merit (FoM) ranking; thus, they have…
Stecker, Malkan and Scully, have shown how ongoing deep surveys of galaxy luminosity functions, spectral energy distributions and backwards evolution models of star formation rates can be used to calculate the past history of intergalactic…
We propose that axion-like particles (ALPs) with a two-photon vertex, consistent with all astrophysical and laboratory bounds, may lead to a detectable signature in the spectra of high-energy gamma ray sources. This occurs as a result of…
Over the past few decades impressive progress has been made in the field of photon polarimetry, especially in the hard X-ray and soft gamma-ray energy regime. Measurements of the linear degree of polarization for some of the most energetic…
The understanding of the instrumental response of the GLAST Burst Monitor BGO detectors at energies above the energy range which is accessible by common laboratory radiation sources (< 4.43 MeV), is important, especially for the later…
Familiar concepts in physics, such as Lorentz symmetry, are expected to be broken at energies approaching the Planck energy scale as predicted by several quantum-gravity theories. However, such very large energies are unreachable by current…
We discuss some of the tests of Lorentz symmetry made possible by astrophysical observations of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays, gamma-rays, and neutrinos. These are among the most sensitive tests of Lorentz symmetry violation because they are…
Gamma-Ray bursts, flaring active galactic nuclei and pulsars are distant and energetic astrophysical sources, detected up to tens of TeV with Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes (IACTs). Due to their high variability, they are the most…
Structure formation in the intergalactic medium (IGM) produces large-scale, collisionless shock waves, where electrons can accelerate to highly relativistic energies. Such electrons can Compton scatter cosmic microwave background photons up…