Proposed observations of gravity waves from the early Universe via "Millikan oil drops"

TL;DR

This paper proposes using superfluid helium Millikan oil drops as quantum transducers to detect early Universe gravity waves, enabling a novel experimental approach to cosmology and quantum gravity.

Contribution

It introduces a new method employing Millikan oil drops in superconducting traps for converting EM to GR waves and vice versa, facilitating gravity wave detection from the early Universe.

Findings

Potential to detect primordial gravity waves

Discrimination between early Universe theories

Feasibility of quantum transducer-based experiments

Abstract

Pairs of Planck-mass drops of superfluid helium coated by electrons (i.e., ``Millikan oil drops''), when levitated in a superconducting magnetic trap, can be efficient quantum transducers between electromagnetic (EM) and gravitational (GR) radiation. This leads to the possibility of a Hertz-like experiment, in which EM waves are converted at the source into GR waves, and then back-converted at the receiver from GR waves back into EM waves. Detection of the gravity-wave analog of the cosmic microwave background using these drops can discriminate between various theories of the early Universe.