Relative locality: a deepening of the relativity principle

Abstract

We describe a recently introduced principle of relative locality which we propose governs a regime of quantum gravitational phenomena accessible to experimental investigation. This regime comprises phenomena in which ${\hbar}$ and G _N may be neglected, while their ratio, the Planck mass ${M_p =\sqrt{\hbar / G_N}}$, is important. We propose that M _p governs the scale at which momentum space may have a curved geometry. We find that there are striking consequences for the concept of locality. The description of events in spacetime now depends on the energy used to probe it. But there remains an invariant description of physics in phase space. There is furthermore a reasonable expectation that the geometry of momentum space can be measured experimentally using astrophysical observations.