Journal Article

KM3NeT constraint on Lorentz-violating superluminal neutrino velocity

Petropavlova, M., Bertin, V., Stocco, D., Chabab, M., van Eeden, T., Hernández-Rey, J. J., Pradier, T., Mitsou, M. L., Paesani, D., Sapienza, P., Daz, A. F., Peña Martnez, S., Argüelles, C., Donzaud, C., Ros, E., Šimkovic, F., Migneco, E., Pestel, V., Plavin, A., Vazquez de Sola, F., Guillon, B., Kikvadze, V., Migliozzi, P., Lahmann, R., Oliviero, V., Quiroz-Rangel, C. A., Biagi, S., Parmar, A., Diego-Tortosa, D., Muller, R., Haack, C., Sanfilippo, S., De Wasseige, G., Ferrara, G., Pastore, C., Piattelli, P., Breuhaus, M., Aiello, S., Marconi, M., Gatius Oliver, C., Guidi, C., Kistauri, G., Ambrosone, A., Distefano, C., Zito, D., Razzaque, S., Prado, J., Idrissi, A., Nayerhoda, A., Scarnera, M., Genton, E., van Eijk, D., Alhebsi, A. R., Garcia Soto, A., Joly, D., Betti, P., van Vliet, A., Fusco, L. A., Idrissi Ibnsalih, W., Ardid, S., Goswami, P., Cuttone, G., Adriani, O., Drakopoulou, E., Lemaître, V., Schumann, J., Ducoin, J.-G., Bonanno, D., Thoudam, S., Vivolo, D., Boettcher, M., Kvatadze, R., Romanov, A., Condorelli, A., Krupa, L., Benoit, D. M., Vasileiadis, G., El Bojaddaini, I., Perrin-Terrin, M., Schnabel, J., Lehaut, G., Keegans, J., Sa

2025

Overview

Lorentz invariance is a fundamental symmetry of spacetime and foundational to modern physics. One of its most important consequences is the constancy of the speed of light. This invariance, together with the geometry of spacetime, implies that no particle can move faster than the speed of light. In this article, we present the most stringent neutrino-based test of this prediction, using the highest-energy neutrino ever detected to date, KM3-230213A. If we assume an extragalactic source as the origin, the arrival of this event, with an energy of 22 0 − 110 + 570 PeV , sets a constraint on δ ≡ c ν 2 − 1 < 4 . 2 − 3.7 + 9.2 × 1 0 − 22 . The potential for neutrinos to travel faster than light challenges fundamental physics, yet remains unconfirmed. The authors utilize the KM3NeT neutrino telescope to impose stringent constraints on Lorentz-violating superluminal neutrino velocities, reinforcing the standard understanding of Lorentz symmetry and impacting future theoretical and experimental explorations in particle physics.

• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group UK,Nature Publishing Group,Nature Research,Nature Portfolio
• Subject: 639/766/419/1132 / 639/766/419/866 / Astrophysics / Charged particles / Competition / Constraints / Dimensional analysis / Energy / Invariance / Light speed / Neutrinos / Particle physics / Physics / Physics and Astronomy / Star & galaxy formation / Symmetry