Gravitational wave detection via photon-graviton scattering and quantum interference
We present a fully quantum field-theoretic framework for gravitational wave (GW) detection, describing the interaction as inelastic photon-graviton scattering. We demonstrate that for \textit{a coherent graviton state}, this microscopic model explicitly reproduces the standard classical geometric-optics time delay, providing a rigorous consistency test of the correspondence limit. We propose a detection scheme based on Hong-Ou-Mandel interference, where the GW-induced spectral shifts render entangled photon pairs distinguishable. This encodes the gravitational signal into the modulation of photon coincidence rates --- a quantum observable robust against laser intensity noise. Furthermore, we show that non-classical graviton states, such as squeezed states, induce unique decoherence signatures, establishing theoretical bounds on gravitational decoherence and defining the operational limits for probing the quantum nature of gravity.
Authors
- S. Shankaranarayanan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7666-4116)
- K. Hari (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9012-6464)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Physical review. D/Physical review. D.
- Published
- 2026-10-29
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1103/qrbz-6kt7
- Primary Topic
- Pulsars and Gravitational Waves Research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00