Searches for Lorentz-Violating Signals with Astrophysical Polarization Measurements

Abstract

Astrophysical observations are a powerful tool to constrain effects of Lorentz-invariance violation in the photon sector. Objects at high redshifts provide the longest possible baselines, and gamma-ray telescopes allow us to observe some of the highest energy photons. Observations include polarization measurements and time-of-flight measurements of transient or variable objects to constrain vacuum birefringence and dispersion. Observing multiple sources covering the entire sky allows the extraction of constraints on anisotropy. In this paper, I review methods and recent results on Lorentz- and CPT-invariance violation constraints derived from astrophysical polarization measurements in the framework of the Standard-Model Extension.