Comments on graviton detection
arXiv:2408.00094 · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-91266-5_2
Abstract
It is possible to make a detector which clicks after absorbing a single graviton. Similarly, it is possible to make a gravitational wave detector which can see the quantum noise induced by certain highly squeezed states of the graviton. However, contrary to some recent arguments in the literature, observation of either or both of these signals would not constitute proof or even evidence that the gravitational field is quantized. This is a simple technical statement: a classical gravitational wave can produce the same output data in a detector. Here we explain this result, presented earlier in arXiv:2308.12988, which is a straightforward extension of an ancient argument in quantum optics.
arXiv commentIncludes explicit calculation of squeezed graviton noise in LIGO; otherwise mostly a pedagogical version of arXiv:2308.12988. 17 breezy pages, 2 figures. Dedicated to Gordon Semenoff on the occasion of his 70th birthday, and based on a talk at his festschrift held at the Université de Montréal, July 2023
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