Possible observation of photon speed energy dependence

Abstract Current constraints on photon velocity variability are summarized and displayed in terms of an energy-dependent vacuum refraction index. It is shown that the energy–momentum balance of high energy Compton scattering is very sensitive to the outgoing photon speed. A missing energy observation in HERA Compton polarimeter data indicates that photons with 12.7 GeV energy are moving faster than light by 5.1(1.4) mm/s. An asymmetry spectrum measured by the SLC longitudinal polarimeter implies however an effect which is 42 times smaller, although the interpretation of the data is less clear here.