2009/03/31 by Michael Seifert, Michael D. Seifert · 3 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Black Holes and Theoretical Physics #Cosmology and Gravitation Theories #Noncommutative and Quantum Gravity Theories #gr-qc
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevd.79.124012
published as Phys. Rev. D 79, 124012 (2009) · 12 pages, RevTeX format. v2: fixed typos, added footnotes to match PRD version
arxiv created 2009/06/08 · openalex publication_date 2009/06/11 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Spontaneous Lorentz symmetry breaking can occur when the dynamics of a tensor field cause it to take on a nonzero expectation value in vacuo, thereby providing one or more ``preferred directions'' in spacetime. Couplings between such fields and spacetime curvature will then affect the dynamics of the metric, leading to interesting gravitational effects. Bailey and Kosteleck'y [Q. G. Bailey and V. A. Kosteleck'y, Phys. Rev. D 74, 045001 (2006)] developed a post-Newtonian formalism that, under certain conditions concerning the field's couplings and stress-energy, allows for the analysis of gravitational effects in the presence of Lorentz symmetry breaking. We perform a systematic survey of vector models of spontaneous Lorentz symmetry breaking. We find that a two-parameter class of vector models, those with kinetic terms we call ``pseudo-Maxwell,'' can be successfully analyzed under the Bailey-Kosteleck'y formalism, and that one of these two ``dimensions'' in parameter space has not yet been explored as a possible mechanism of spontaneous Lorentz symmetry breaking.