Interpreting doubly special relativity as a modified theory of measurement

Abstract

In this article we develop a physical interpretation for the deformed (doubly) special relativity theories (DSRs), based on a modification of the theory of measurement in special relativity. We suggest that it is useful to regard the DSRs as reflecting the manner in which quantum gravity effects induce Planck-suppressed distortions in the measurement of the "true" energy and momentum. This interpretation provides a framework for the DSRs that is manifestly consistent, non-trivial, and in principle falsifiable. However, it does so at the cost of demoting such theories from the level of "fundamental" physics to the level of phenomenological models -- models that should in principle be derivable from whatever theory of quantum gravity one ultimately chooses to adopt.