Abstract
We present constraints on violations of Lorentz invariance based on archival lunar laser-ranging (LLR) data. LLR measures the Earth-Moon separation by timing the round-trip travel of light between the two bodies and is currently accurate to the equivalent of a few centimeters (parts in of the total distance). By analyzing this LLR data under the standard-model extension (SME) framework, we derived six observational constraints on dimensionless SME parameters that describe potential Lorentz violation. We found no evidence for Lorentz violation at the to level in these parameters. This work constitutes the first LLR constraints on SME parameters.
- Received 6 September 2007
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.99.241103
©2007 American Physical Society