Erlangen 2026 – wissenschaftliches Programm

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GR: Fachverband Gravitation, Relativistische Astrophysik und Kosmologie

GR 8: Gravitational Waves II

GR 8.6: Vortrag

Mittwoch, 18. März 2026, 15:00–15:15, KH 01.016

Stimulated Emission or Absorption of Gravitons by Light — •Ralf Schützhold — Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Bautzner Landstraße 400, 01328 Dresden, Germany — Institut für Theoretische Physik, Technische Universität Dresden, 01062 Dresden, Germany

We study the exchange of energy between gravitational and electromagnetic waves in an extended Mach-Zehnder or Sagnac type geometry that is analogous to an optical Weber bar. In the presence of a gravitational wave (such as the ones measured by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory), we find that it should be possible to observe (via interference or beating effects after a delay line) signatures of stimulated emission or absorption of gravitons with present-day technology. Apart from marking the transition from passively observing to actively manipulating such a natural phenomenon, this could also be used as a complementary detection scheme. Nonclassical photon states may improve the sensitivity and might even allow us to test certain quantum aspects of the gravitational field.

[1] R. Schützhold, Stimulated Emission or Absorption of Gravitons by Light, Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 171501 (2025)

Keywords: gravitational and electromagnetic waves; stimulated emission or absorption of gravitons; complementary detection scheme; quantum aspects of the gravitational field