A testable description of space-time foam as a fundamental stochastic gravity-wave background

TL;DR

This paper proposes a phenomenological model for space-time foam noise in gravity-wave detectors, linking quantum gravity effects to measurable noise levels in current and future experiments.

Contribution

It introduces a testable framework for detecting quantum gravity-induced noise in gravity-wave detectors, connecting theoretical models to experimental sensitivities.

Findings

LIGO and VIRGO sensitivities could detect Planck-scale white noise.

Next NAUTILUS upgrade may observe quantum gravity effects.

White noise levels relate to the Planck length.

Abstract

I develop a phenomenological approach to the description of the noise levels that the space-time foam of quantum gravity could induce in modern gravity-wave detectors. Various possibilities are considered, including white noise and random-walk noise. In particular, I find that the sensitivity level expected for the planned LIGO and VIRGO interferometers and for the next upgrade of the NAUTILUS resonant-bar detector corresponds to a white-noise level which can be naturally associated with the Planck length.