preprints.org > physical sciences > theoretical physics > doi: 10.20944/preprints202406.0244.v1

Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Version 1 : Received: 4 June 2024 / Approved: 4 June 2024 / Online: 5 June 2024 (14:02:47 CEST)

A quantum theory of gravity is among the most pursued goals in physics. I present a definitive and direct experimental proof that refutes the widely believed hypothesis of quantum gravity. The detections of astrophysical gravitational waves (GW) are inferred from the differential oscillations of suspended mirrors of optical interferometers like the aLIGO detectors. If gravity is indeed quantized, then the average energy $\bar{E}$ in the minute oscillations of the mirrors, at a frequency $\nu$, corresponds to the absorption of an integer number $N$ gravitational quanta with total energy $E_{gw}=Nh\nu$. The coherent and coincident detections across large separations of detectors, and also the constraint of the equivalence principle, dictate that the average number of quanta $\bar{N}$ forcing the oscillations obeys $\bar{N}\gg 1$, or $1/\sqrt{\bar{N}}\ll 1$. However, the average energy $\bar{E}$ in the differential oscillations is smaller than the energy of a single quantum of GW radiation at the detected astrophysical GW frequencies. This startling finding implies that $\bar{N} <1$, which is physically impossible if gravity is quantized. This singular contradiction refutes the long-held hypothesis that gravity is quantized.

quantum gravity; radiation quanta; gravitational waves; intrferometric detectors; sub-quantum energy

Physical Sciences, Theoretical Physics

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