Test of Lorentz invariance through observation of the longitudinal development of ultrahigh-energy extensive air showers

Lorentz invariance violation and the QED formation length

“…In the frame of Coleman and Glashow scheme this will put the limits | c 2 − c 2 e | 10 −23 . In this connection we would like to point out the interesting work [19] where new constraints on | c γ − c π 0 | (c π 0 is the maximal attainable speed of neutral pions) are obtained by comparing the experimentally measured position of the shower maximum X max with calculations.…”

Quantum-Spacetime Phenomenology

“…This is rather intriguing since there is a report [81] of experimental evidence of anomalies for the structure of the air showers produced by cosmic rays, particularly their longitudinal development. And it has been argued in Ref.…”

“…And it has been argued in Ref. [81] that these unexpected features of the longitudinal development of air showers could be explained in terms of a severely reduced decay probability for pions of energies of 10 15 eV and higher. This is still to be considered a very preliminary observation, not only because of the need to acquire data of better quality on the development of air showers, but also because of the role [59] that our limited control of nonperturbative QCD has in setting our expectations for what air-shower development should look like without new physics.…”

Quantum-Gravity Phenomenology: Status and Prospects

“…Remarkably, this type of behaviour could explain 42 certain puzzling features 69 of the longitudinal development of the air showers produced by certain high-energy cosmic-rays.…”