The Big Bang, the LHC and the God Particle Cormac O’Raifeartaigh (WIT) Faster than the speed of light Was Einstein wrong? Cormac O’Raifeartaigh (WIT) Maths Week, CALMAST

Overview I The experiment What, why, how IISkepticism from theory Special relativity General relativity III Skepticism from experiment Particle experiments Astronomy Supernova observations IV Skepticism in science Coda: what if..?

The OPERA experiment Result early by 60 nanoseconds Beam of neutrinos at CERN Detector under Gran Sasso Distance of 732 km Time of flight 2.43 ms 0.003% faster than light! Highly respected group

Neutrinos Suggested by Pauli (1930) Conservation of energy Zero charge, ‘zero’ mass Weak interaction Skepticism (non-physicists) Detected in 1956

Standard Model Higgs boson outstanding

Neutrinos today Three different types Tiny mass Dark matter? The solar neutrino paradox Missing neutrinos Gran Sasso experiment Unexpected result Neutrino oscillation

The OPERA experiment

OPERA: the numbers Time of flight: +/- 10ns / ms Velocity = distance/time Δv/v = 2.5 x or.003% Measurement of distance (GPS) 732 km +/- 20 cm (18 m?) Note: neutrinos in pulses.01 ms long (10,000 ns)

Snags Not direct comparison Light does not travel through mountain Accurate measurement of distance Relies on GPS Accurate measurement of time-of-flight Relies on GPS and statistics (pulses) Relatively short distance Need to direct beam at the moon Expect: systematic error

II Skepticism from theory (SR) Laws of physics identical for observers in uniform motion Speed of light in vacuum a universal constant Distance not absolute Time not absolute Mass increases with velocity E = mc 2 Reception: skepticism The special theory of relativity (1905)

Early experiments Kaufmann, Bucherer Modern particle accelerators Length contraction Time dilation Mass increase Particle accelerators Speed limit Antimatter E = mc 2 Evidence for relativity

9 accelerators velocity increase? K.E = 1/2mv 2

Relativity ‘skepticism’ Extraordinary concept Counter-intuitive Only observable at tremendous speeds Only observable for subatomic particles Simple maths Time and distance calculations Personalization Confusion of discovery and justification Compare: quantum physics Speed of light plays role of ∞ Dr Al Kelly ‘Einstein wrong’ The Irish Times

Skepticism from theory (GR) Gravity = curvature of space and time Laws of physics identical for all observers Speed of light in vacuum a universal constant Principle of equivalence New view of gravity Revolution Cosmological implications Matter warps space and time General Relativity (1915)

General relativity Predictions Bending of starlight by sun Black holes Expanding universe Time dilation by gravity Geodesic effect Evidence Eddington experiment Astronomy GPS Everett experiment Breakdown at quantum scales

III Skepticism from supernovas Supernova Huge implosion of massive star Neutrinos released Light delayed by debris Supernova 1987a Neutrinos detected Ahead of light by 5 min Not by 5 years !

IV Skepticism in science Many years for new result to be accepted Must be reproducible Must fit known experiments Paradigm shift Slow, gradual process (DJ) Consensus process If so Compare: accelerating universe Thomas Kuhn

The OPERA viewpoint ‘Despite the large significance of the measurement reported here and the stability of the analysis, the potentially great impact of the result motivates the continuation of our studies in order to investigate possible still unknown systematic effects that could explain the observed anomaly. We deliberately do not attempt any theoretical or phenomenological interpretation of the results’ ‘Up to half of the members of the OPERA project are opposed to immediately publishing the result in a peer-reviewed journal. They do not believe any known mistakes are being hidden by other members of the group, but are worried about the significant impact to physics of the results.’ Physics World

‘Skepticism’ in the media Scientific skepticism misunderstood Attributed to conservatism Role of evidence misunderstood ‘Balanced’ debate unweighted Climate ‘skepticism’ is not scientific Science journalism: news driven Bjorn Lomborg contrarian

Summary Extraordinary result Indirect measurement Contradicts theory Special and general relativity Contradicts experiment Particle experiments Astronomy experiments Extraordinary evidence? X Further reading: ANTIMATTER What if.... ?

What if result stands? First evidence of string theory ? Extra dimensions Shortcut? Doesn’t violate relativity Unification theory 7 dimensions curled up? High energy Lightest particles Doesn’t contradict previous results