Using Gravitational Wave Observations to Probe Quantum Gravity

TL;DR

This paper proposes a method to use gravitational wave observations, potentially linked with electromagnetic signals, to test the existence of gravitons and explore quantum gravity effects through low-energy experiments.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach to probe quantum gravity and graviton existence by examining electromagnetic counterparts to gravitational waves via a conversion mechanism.

Findings

Potential to detect graviton signatures

Link between gravitational waves and electromagnetic signals

Probing quantum gravity scales with low-energy experiments

Abstract

Electromagnetic radiation is known to be associated with certain gravitational waves events, i.e. the collision of binary neutron stars. Establishing this connection is non-trivial. However, if electromagnetic counterparts could be produced by directly converting gravitons into photons, then a simple smoking gun test exists linking the two events. This model uses the general and conversion mechanism discussed by Raffelt and Stodolsky. Furthermore, because this mechanism is generic to the symmetries of general relativity and the standard model and because it assumes a quantised gravitational field, we may probe both the existence of the graviton and the scale at which quantum gravity effects (and thus very high-energy phenomena) become relevant using simple low-energy experiments.