Probing Planck-scale physics with quantum optics

Understand

One of the main challenges in physics today is to merge quantum theory and the theory of general relativity into a unified framework.

• Various approaches towards developing such a theory of quantum gravity are pursued, but the lack of experimental evidence of quantum gravitational effects thus far is a major hindrance.
• Yet, the quantization of space-time itself can have experimental implications: the existence of a minimal length scale is widely expected to result in a modification of the Heisenberg uncertainty relation.
• Here we introduce a scheme that allows an experimental test of this conjecture by probing directly the canonical commutation relation of the center of mass mode of a massive mechanical oscillator with a mass close to the Planck mass.