Detecting single gravitons with gravitational wave detectorsConfirmed

by Germain Tobar (Stockholm University)

Thursday May 15, 2025, 2:30 p.m. → 4:00 p.m. America/Toronto

PI/4-405 - Bob Room (Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics)

The quantization of gravity is widely believed to result in gravitons -- particles of discrete energy that form gravitational waves. But their detection has so far been considered impossible. In this talk, I will show that laboratory experiments can reveal signatures of single graviton exchange. I will outline how both interferometric and resonant-mass gravitational wave detectors can be adapted into single graviton detectors with future detector modifications. Drawing a close analogy to the photoelectric effect, I will argue that such experiments may offer the first direct evidence for the quantum nature of gravity.

 

References:

[1] G. Tobar, S. K. Manikandan, T. Beitel, and I. Pikovski, “Detecting single gravitons with quantum sensing,” Nature Communications, vol. 15, no. 7229, 2024. [arXiv:2308.15440]