Output details
9 - Physics
King's College London
Probing quantum gravity using photons from a flare of the active galactic nucleus Markarian 501 observed by the MAGIC telescope
This research resulted from a theoretical suggestion for vacuum refractive indices by Nick Mavromatos, and Mavromatos provided theoretical guidance to the experimentalists in this work. In particular, Mavromatos and Sakharov were responsible for developing the theoretical framework for reconstructing the peak of the flare of the active galactic nucleus, observed in the experiment, making appropriate use of the modified dispersion relations for photons due to quantum-gravity-induced refractive indices. This method allowed for quite accurate bounds on the Lorentz violation mass scale to be derived. The experimentalists adopted this method in the analysis of their data.