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Nonlocal Lorentz-violating Modifications of QED

Niu, Qian
Abstract
We consider nonlocal Lorentz-violating theories, with infinite-derivative quadratic terms. The nonlocal modifications in the form of exponential damping in the propagator lead to a better convergence of amplitudes than in the local theories. Moreover, the nonlocal Lorentz-violating theories are ghost-free and unitary when formulated in Minkowski space. We compute the loop effects assuming one-parameter and two-parameter nonlocal functions. By comparing the lower bound of the nonlocality scale with the Planck scale, we rule out these theories. We then review a more general argument, developed by Collins et al. (2004), that a microscopic theory with Lorentz violation around the Planck scale has no suppression at low energy. Additionally, we consider the possibility of suppressing Lorentz violation in these theories when there is a hard cutoff.
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2021-12-01
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Undergraduate Honors Theses
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Qian_Niu_Honors_Thesis_2021.pdf
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Carone, Christopher
Erlich, Joshua
Armstrong, David
Davies, Paul
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Physics
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https://scholarworks.wm.edu/handle/internal/11172
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