Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 8, 2026

The Generation of Higher-order Laguerre-Gauss Optical Beams for High-precision Interferometry
Published on: August 12, 2013
Signatures of correlation of spacetime fluctuations in laser interferometers
B Sharmila1, Sander M Vermeulen2, Animesh Datta3
1Department of Physics, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK. Sharmila.Balamurugan@warwick.ac.uk.
None:
Spacetime fluctuations (SFs), a common feature of proposed gravity models, could be detected using laser interferometers. To advance this effort, we provide the correspondence between expected interferometer output signals and gravity models. We consider three classes of SFs, characterised by the decay behaviours and symmetries of their two-point correlation functions. For each, we identify the low- and high-frequency behaviour of the outputs and their dependence on the interferometer's length. Capturing these requires sensitivity over a broad frequency range that spans the light-round-trip frequency, as provided by laboratory-scale setups, whereas detecting the presence or absence of SFs can be done with high narrowband sensitivity at the light-round-trip frequency. Our approach applies to interferometers with arm cavities, such as the km-long LIGO detectors, and those without, like laboratory-scale setups QUEST and GQuEST. Finally, we constrain the strength and correlation scale of SFs by comparing our modelled signals with experimental data.
Related Concept Videos
Interference and Diffraction
Space-Time Curvature and the General Theory of Relativity
This has been verified in many experiments. However, space and time are no longer absolute. Two observers moving relative to one another do not agree on the length of objects or the passage of time. The mechanics of objects based on Newton's laws of...
Atomic Nuclei: Larmor Precession Frequency
Atomic Emission Spectroscopy: Interference
IR Spectrum Peak Splitting: Symmetric vs Asymmetric Vibrations
¹H NMR: Interpreting Distorted and Overlapping Signals
As Δν decreases and the signals move closer, the doublets appear increasingly distorted. The intensities of the inner lines increase at the cost of those of the outer lines as the signals are...

