Observational signatures of quantum gravity in interferometers

We consider the uncertainty in the arm length of an interferometer due to metric fluctuations from the quantum nature of gravity, proposing a concrete microscopic model of energy fluctuations in holographic degrees of freedom on the surface bounding a causally connected region of spacetime. In our model, fluctuations longitudinal to the beam direction accumulate in the infrared and feature strong long distance correlation in the transverse direction. This leads to a signal that could be observed in a gravitational wave interferometer. We connect the positional uncertainty principle arising from our calculations to the 't Hooft gravitational S-matrix. (C) 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Automated summary

In this study, we investigate the uncertainty in interferometer arm length due to metric fluctuations from quantum gravity, proposing a specific microscopic model of energy fluctuations in holographic degrees of freedom. Our model predicts strong long distance correlations in the transverse direction and suggests a potential signal observable in a gravitational wave interferometer. We also relate the positional uncertainty principle to the 't Hooft gravitational S-matrix.