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[18.12] A systematic study of GRB millisecond flares at MeV energies aiming to constrain Quantum Gravity

C.B. Wunderer, S.E. Boggs, W. Coburn, K. Hurley (SSL/UCB), J. Greiner (MPE), D. Smith (UCSC)

Since the discovery of the cosmologial origin of GRBs there has been growing interest in using these transient events to probe the quantum gravity energy scale up to the Planck mass scale. This energy scale can manifest itself through a modification in the electromagnetic radiation dispersion relation, measured through an energy-dependent time lag dt/dE. We plan to use millisecond-timescale flares in GRBs with known redshifts to place upper limits on this energy dispersion of the speed of light. We have analyzed one RHESSI GRB exhibiting such flares, and have started a systematic study of INTEGRAL and RHESSI GRBs looking for suitable flaring events. We present the status of our study, focussing on the search for suitable millisecond flaring events in the INTEGRAL data.

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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 36 #3
© 2004. The American Astronomical Soceity.