High-energy photon detection challenges Einstein's relativity

Researchers from the National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF) and the National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN) have identified a record-breaking photon that may challenge established laws of physics. The photon, possessing an energy of approximately 300 TeV, originated from the gamma-ray burst known as GRB 221009A (nicknamed BOAT, or Brightest Of All Time), located two billion light-years from Earth.

According to standard physical models and Einstein's theory of relativity, a photon of this energy should not have survived the journey. During its transit, it would likely have interacted with the cosmic microwave background radiation, converting its energy into an electron-positron pair and effectively disappearing. However, the Carpet experiment at the Baksan Observatory in Russia successfully detected the particle.

To explain this anomaly, the study published in Physical Review Letters proposes new theoretical frameworks. These include the existence of axion-like particles (ALPs) and a potential violation of Lorentz invariance. Such mechanisms could allow the photon to bypass expected interactions, making the universe temporarily transparent to extreme energies.