Testing Generalised Uncertainty Principles through Quantum Noise

TL;DR

This paper investigates how modifications to quantum uncertainty principles, inspired by quantum gravity theories, affect optomechanical noise and derives experimental bounds on these modifications using recent noise measurements.

Contribution

It analyzes the observable effects of generalized uncertainty principles on optomechanical systems and proposes experimental adjustments to improve bounds on modified commutators.

Findings

Derived bounds on modified commutators from LIGO and optomechanical experiments

Identified potential for experiments to surpass sub-atomic measurement bounds

Showed how to optimize experiments to detect quantum gravity effects

Abstract

Motivated by several approaches to quantum gravity, there is a considerable literature on generalised uncertainty principles particularly through modification of the canonical position-momentum commutation relations. Some of these modified relations are also consistent with general principles that may be supposed of any physical theory. Such modified commutators have significant observable consequences. Here we study the noisy behaviour of an optomechanical system assuming a certain commonly studied modified commutator. From recent observations of radiation pressure noise in tabletop optomechanical experiments as well as the position noise spectrum of Advanced LIGO we derive bounds on the modified commutator. We find how such experiments can be adjusted to provide significant improvements in such bounds, potentially surpassing those from sub-atomic measurements.