Journal Article

Testing generalised uncertainty principles through quantum noise

Girdhar, Parth, Doherty, Andrew C

2020

Overview

Motivated by several approaches to quantum gravity, there is a considerable literature on generalised uncertainty principles particularly through modification of the canonical position-momentum commutation relations. Some of these modified relations are also consistent with general principles that may be supposed of any physical theory. Such modified commutators have significant observable consequences. Here we study the noisy behaviour of an optomechanical system assuming a certain commonly studied modified commutator. From recent observations of radiation pressure noise in tabletop optomechanical experiments as well as the position noise spectrum of advanced LIGO we derive bounds on the modified commutator. We find how such experiments can be adjusted to provide significant improvements in such bounds, potentially surpassing those from sub-atomic measurements.

• Publisher: IOP Publishing
• Subject: Commutation / Commutators / generalised uncertainty principle / LIGO / Noise / optomechanics / Physics / Planck scale / Quantum gravity / Radiation pressure / radiation pressure noise / Uncertainty principles