Photon-Counting Interferometry to Detect Geontropic Space-Time Fluctuations with GQuEST
S. M. Vermeulen, T. J. Cullen, Daniel Grass, I. A. O. MacMillan, Alexander J. Ramirez, J. Wack, Boris Korzh, Vincent S. H. Lee, Kathryn M. Zurek, Chris Stoughton, L. McCuller
Abstract
The gravity from the quantum entanglement of space-time (GQuEST) experiment uses tabletop-scale Michelson laser interferometers to probe for fluctuations in space-time. We present a practicable interferometer design featuring a novel photon-counting readout method that provides unprecedented sensitivity, as it is not subject to the interferometric standard quantum limit. We evaluate the potential of this design to measure space-time fluctuations motivated by recent “geontropic” quantum gravity models. The accelerated accrual of Fisher information offered by the photon-counting readout enables GQuEST to detect the predicted quantum gravity phenomena within measurement times at least 100 times shorter than equivalent conventional interferometers. The GQuEST design, thus, enables a fast and sensitive search for signatures of quantum gravity in a laboratory-scale experiment.