Phys.org August 27, 2024
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. An international team of researchers (Sweden, Japan, USA – Stevens Institute of Technology) showed that signatures of single graviton exchange could be observed in laboratory experiments. They showed that stimulated and spontaneous single-graviton processes could become relevant for massive quantum acoustic resonators and that stimulated absorption could be resolved through continuous sensing of quantum jumps. They analyzed the feasibility of observing the exchange of single energy quanta between matter and gravitational waves. Their results showed that single graviton signatures were within reach of experiments. In analogy to the discovery of the photo-electric effect for photons, such signatures could provide the first experimental clue of the quantization of gravity… read more.
Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Passing gravitational waves result in stimulated absorption of gravitons. Credit: Nature Communications volume 15, Article number: 7229 (2024)