English

Testing Quantum Gravity

General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology 2017-10-23 v1 Quantum Physics

Abstract

The search for a theory of quantum gravity is the most fundamental problem in all of theoretical physics, but there are as yet no experimental results at all to guide this endeavor. What seems to be needed is a pragmatic way to test if gravitation really occurs between quantum objects or not. In this article we suggest such a potential way out of this deadlock, utilizing macroscopic quantum systems; superfluid helium, gaseous Bose-Einstein condensates and "macroscopic" molecules. It turns out that true quantum gravity effects - here defined as observable gravitational interactions between truly quantum objects - could and should be seen (if they occur in nature) using existing technology. A falsification of the low-energy limit, in the accessible weak-field regime, would also falsify the full theory of quantum gravity, making it enter the realm of testable, potentially falsifiable theories, i.e. becoming real physics after almost a century of pure theorizing. If weak-field gravity between quantum objects is shown to be absent (in the regime where the approximation should apply), we know that gravity then is a strictly classical phenomenon absent at the quantum level.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1710.07280,
  title  = {Testing Quantum Gravity},
  author = {Johan Hansson and Stephane Francois},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1710.07280},
  year   = {2017}
}

Comments

Honorable Mention Award in the 2017 Essay Competition of the Gravity Research Foundation, 9 pages