Graviton-Photon Oscillations as a Probe of Quantum Gravity

TL;DR

This paper explores the potential of using graviton-photon oscillations via the Gertsenshtein effect to detect quantum gravity phenomena, highlighting current technological limitations and future possibilities on astrophysical scales.

Contribution

It analyzes the efficiency of the Gertsenshtein detector with current and future single-photon detection technology for probing quantum gravity.

Findings

Current detectors are inefficient for graviton detection.

Futuristic detectors could enable astrophysical-scale observations.

Detection probability remains very low with existing technology.

Abstract

The Gertsenshtein effect could in principle be used to detect a single graviton by firing it through a region filled with a constant magnetic field that enables its conversion to a photon, which can be efficiently detected via standard techniques. The quantization of the gravitational field could then be inferred indirectly. We show that for currently available single-photon detector technology, the Gertsenshtein detector is generically inefficient, meaning that the probability of detection is $\ll 1$. The Gertsenshtein detector can become efficient on astrophysical scales for futuristic single-photon detectors sensitive to frequencies in the Hz to kHz range. It is not clear whether such devices are in principle possible.