Is graviton shot noise detectable?

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Author: Toth, Viktor T.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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author Toth, Viktor T.
author_facet Toth, Viktor T.
contents Direct detection of gravitons in gravitational experiments, including gravitational wave observatories, has been all but ruled out given the weak coupling between the gravitational field and matter. Here we propose an alternative: looking not for the presence but for the absence of graviton shot noise in gravitational wave data. Gravitational wave experiments detect very weak signals that correspond to a surprisingly small number of gravitons even at the relatively low frequencies that characterize signals from gravitational wave events. A detailed calculation, which also yields results that are consistent with the existing literature, demonstrates that graviton shot noise may be present at detectable levels in gravitational wave observations. The absence of elevated noise levels due to graviton shot noise, in turn, would indicate that gravity is not a quantum field theory with a conventional perturbative expansion at low energies.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2411_06694
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Is graviton shot noise detectable?
Toth, Viktor T.
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
Direct detection of gravitons in gravitational experiments, including gravitational wave observatories, has been all but ruled out given the weak coupling between the gravitational field and matter. Here we propose an alternative: looking not for the presence but for the absence of graviton shot noise in gravitational wave data. Gravitational wave experiments detect very weak signals that correspond to a surprisingly small number of gravitons even at the relatively low frequencies that characterize signals from gravitational wave events. A detailed calculation, which also yields results that are consistent with the existing literature, demonstrates that graviton shot noise may be present at detectable levels in gravitational wave observations. The absence of elevated noise levels due to graviton shot noise, in turn, would indicate that gravity is not a quantum field theory with a conventional perturbative expansion at low energies.
title Is graviton shot noise detectable?
topic General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2411.06694