Experimental limits for low-frequency space-time fluctuations from ultrastable optical resonators
Abstract
It has been suggested that space-time might undergo fluctuations because of its intrinsic quantum nature. These fluctuations would pose a fundamental limit to the ability of measuring distances with arbitrary precision, beyond any limitations due to standard quantum mechanics. Laser interferometers have recently been proposed as being suited for a search for the existence of space-time fluctuations. Here we present results of a search for space-time fluctuations of very low fluctuation frequencies, in the range from 1 microHz to 0.5 Hz. Rigid optical interferometers made out of sapphire and operated at cryogenic temperature were used. We find an upper limit of 1.10^-24 Hz^-1 for the normalized distance noise spectral density at 6 microHz, and of 1.10^-28 Hz^-1 above 5 mHz, and establish an experimental limit for the parameter of a recently proposed random-walk hypothesis.
Cite
@article{arxiv.gr-qc/0401103,
title = {Experimental limits for low-frequency space-time fluctuations from ultrastable optical resonators},
author = {S. Schiller and C. Laemmerzahl and H. Mueller and C. Braxmaier and S. Herrmann and A. Peters},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:gr-qc/0401103},
year = {2009}
}
Comments
15 pages, 2 figures