Gamma-ray Burst Photon Delay as Expected by Quantum Gravity
In this illustration, one photon (purple) carries a million times the energy of another (yellow). Some theorists predict travel delays for higher-energy photons, which interact more strongly with the proposed frothy nature of space-time. Yet Fermi data on two photons from a gamma-ray burst fail to show this effect, eliminating some approaches to a new theory of gravity.
Animation showing how the photons may have acted if the structure of space-time was foamy. However, Fermi data has shown that that effect does not exist.
Print resolution still. In this illustration, one photon (purple) carries a million times the energy of another (yellow). Some theorists predict travel delays for higher-energy photons, which interact more strongly with the proposed frothy nature of space-time. Yet Fermi data on two photons from a gamma-ray burst fail to show this effect, eliminating some approaches to a new theory of gravity. Credit: NASA/Sonoma State University/Aurore Simonnet
Credits
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA/Sonoma State University/Cruz deWilde/Aurore Simonnet
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Animator
- Cruz deWilde (Avant Gravity)
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Scientist
- Julie McEnery (NASA/GSFC)
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Writer
- Francis Reddy (SPSYS)
Missions
This page is related to the following missions:Series
This page can be found in the following series:Datasets used
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[Fermi]
ID: 687
Note: While we identify the data sets used on this page, we do not store any further details, nor the data sets themselves on our site.
Release date
This page was originally published on Wednesday, October 28, 2009.
This page was last updated on Wednesday, May 3, 2023 at 1:54 PM EDT.