“The shadow of light: non-Lorentzian behavior of photon systems"

We discuss the theoretical foundations and the results of a double slit diffraction-like experiment in the infrared range, aimed at finding departures from the classical predictions. We found indeed an anomalous behavior of such a photon system. Possible interpretations can be given in terms of either the existence of de Broglie-Bohm hollow waves associated to photons, and/or a breakdown of local Lorentz invariance (LLI). The findings of the present experiment do agree with the threshold behavior in energy and space, recently derived (on an experimental basis) for the LLI breaking effect. This leads us to put forward the intriguing hypothesis that the hollow wave is a deformation of the space-time (Minkowskian) geometry. Our experimental findings have been tested in crossed photon-beam experiments, whose preliminary results evidence an anomalous behavior in the photon-photon cross section and confirm the threshold behavior in energy and space of the effect we observed. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.