Publication Date:
2013-02-02
Description:
Nature Physics 9, 71 (2013). doi:10.1038/nphys2503 Authors: Francesco Marin, Francesco Marino, Michele Bonaldi, Massimo Cerdonio, Livia Conti, Paolo Falferi, Renato Mezzena, Antonello Ortolan, Giovanni A. Prodi, Luca Taffarello, Gabriele Vedovato, Andrea Vinante & Jean-Pierre Zendri Different approaches to quantum gravity, such as string theory and loop quantum gravity, as well as doubly special relativity and gedanken experiments in black-hole physics, all indicate the existence of a minimal measurable length of the order of the Planck length, nphys2503-m1gif63015316. This observation has motivated the proposal of generalized uncertainty relations, which imply changes in the energy spectrum of quantum systems. As a consequence, quantum gravitational effects could be revealed by experiments able to test deviations from standard quantum mechanics, such as those recently proposed on macroscopic mechanical oscillators. Here we exploit the sub-millikelvin cooling of the normal modes of the ton-scale gravitational wave detector AURIGA, to place an upper limit for possible Planck-scale modifications on the ground-state energy of an oscillator. Our analysis calls for the development of a satisfactory treatment of multi-particle states in the framework of quantum gravity models.
Print ISSN:
1745-2473
Electronic ISSN:
1745-2481
Topics:
Physics
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