High-Frequency Gravitational Wave Detection with Superconducting Qubits

Abstract

High-frequency gravitational waves (HFGWs) provide a unique window into high-energy and early-universe physics, yet they evade traditional macroscopic interferometry. To bridge this detection gap, we propose a novel quantum-sensing paradigm utilizing superconducting transmon qubits embedded in resonant microwave cavities. Through the inverse Gertsenshtein effect, HFGWs propagating in a static magnetic field resonantly excite a cavity mode. By leveraging the characteristic spin-2 quadrupolar pattern of the induced electromagnetic field, we position qubits directly at the electric-field hot spots of the ${\mathrm{TE}}_{212}$ mode to act as localized sensors. Crucially, configuring this array as an entangled quantum register via symmetric Dicke states unlocks a fundamental scaling advantage: the signal probability scales quadratically with the qubit number, translating to a $h_{\min }\propto n_q^{-3/4}$ strain sensitivity scaling. We demonstrate that an idealized global register of 800 qubits reaches a strain sensitivity that surpasses standard macroscopic cavity-power limits by five orders of magnitude. Benchmarked against representative axion-haloscope parameters, this collective quantum enhancement decisively mitigates the profound Planck-scale suppression inherent to gravitational interactions, establishing a transformative framework for next-generation HFGW searches in the GHz band.