Open this publication in new window or tab >>2020 (English)In: International Journal of Modern Physics D, ISSN 0218-2718, Vol. 29, no 14, article id 2042001Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
We show that when the gravitational field is treated quantum-mechanically, it induces fluctuations - noise - in the lengths of the arms of gravitational wave detectors. The characteristics of the noise depend on the quantum state of the gravitational field and can be calculated exactly in several interesting cases. For coherent states, the noise is very small, but it can be greatly enhanced in thermal and (especially) squeezed states. Detection of this fundamental noise would constitute direct evidence for the quantization of gravity and the existence of gravitons.
Keywords
Gravitational waves, gravitons, quantum gravity phenomenology
National Category
Physical Sciences
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:su:diva-191277 (URN)10.1142/S0218271820420018 (DOI)000605609100042 ()2-s2.0-85095110677 (Scopus ID)
2021-03-182021-03-182022-11-10Bibliographically approved