Stockholm University scieists have preseed a new method for detecting single gravitons in a groundbreaking research. This achieveme takes place while uil now, the direct observation of these microscopic particles was considered a big challenge.
According to the scieific news departme of Tekna Technology Media, gravitons have been proposed as fundameal particles that carry the force of gravity. Scieists have been trying to bridge the gap between the theories of gravity and quaum mechanics for years. Now, a group led by Igor Pekovsky, a professor of physics at Stevens University, has succeeded in designing a method to create a tracer capable of detecting single gravitons.
This method is based on rece advances in the field of quaum sensors and the study of quaum objects on a large scale. These objects, which are visible to the naked eye, but exhibit quaum behavior, are considered good candidates for detecting gravitons due to their strong ieraction with gravity.
Using existing technologies such as acoustic resonators and Weber rods, the scieists propose to build a tracker that works by cooling a quaum object to its lowest energy level and then exposing it to gravitational waves. “By cooling matter and monitoring its energy changes in a single step, we can detect the absorption of single gravitons using quaum sensors,” explains postdoctoral researcher Srinivat Manikandan.
Scieists have called the phenomenon created in this process “gravito-phonon effect”. Similar to the photoelectric effect, in which light ieracts with matter in discrete packets called photons, in this phenomenon, gravitons reveal themselves by creating discrete changes in the object’s energy. “Inspired by the photoelectric effect, we use acoustic resonators and gravitational waves passing through the Earth to create the gravito-phonon effect,” says PhD stude Germain Tobar.
To increase the probability of success, scieists suggest using data from the LIGO Gravitational Wave Observatory. Although LIGO has been very successful in detecting gravitational waves, it is unable to detect single gravitons.
Single graviton detection requires very high energy gravitational waves, because the ieraction between a single graviton and matter is very weak. Also, it is not possible to produce gravitational waves in the laboratory and these waves are produced only in massive cosmic eves such as the collision of black holes.
However, the researchers believe that by carefully comparing the LIGO data with measuremes from the proposed detector, they will be able to detect signs of ieracting single gravitons. “Using existing gravitational wave observatories, we can wait for LIGO to detect a gravitational wave and then observe the changes in our detector,” says PhD stude Thomas Bittle. Despite the technical challenges, the research team is optimistic about the future and is designing an experime that will use data from Earth’s gravitational waves.
Research in the field of detecting gravitons has been going on for more than a ceury. Einstein’s theory of general relativity revolutionized our understanding of gravity, but gravity is still the only fundameal force not fully explained by quaum theory. The successful detection of the single graviton would be a major step towards formulating a unified theory of everything. To see the latest news, refer to the scieific news page of Tekna Media.
