[astro-ph/9712103] Potential Sensitivity of Gamma-Ray Burster Observations to Wave Dispersion in Vacuo

[astro-ph/9712103] Potential Sensitivity of Gamma-Ray Burster Observations to Wave Dispersion in Vacuo

The recent confirmation that at least some gamma-ray bursters (GRBs) areindeed at cosmological distances raises the possibility that observations ofthese could provide interesting constraints on the fundamental laws of physics.

 

Here we demonstrate that the fine-scale time structure and hard spectra of GRB emissions are very sensitive to the possible dispersion of electromagnetic waves in vacuo with velocity differences $\delta v \sim E/E_{\QG}$, as suggested in some approaches to quantum gravity.

 

A simple estimate shows that GRB measurements might be sensitive to a dispersion scale EQG comparable to the Planck energy scale EP∼1019 GeV, sufficient to test some of these theories, and we outline aspects of an observational programme that could address this goal.

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