Stimulated Emission or Absorption of Gravitons by Light

Abstract

We study the exchange of energy between gravitational and electromagnetic waves in an extended Mach-Zehnder or Sagnac type geometry that is analogous to an "optical Weber bar."In the presence of a gravitational wave (such as the ones measured by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory), we find that it should be possible to observe (via interference or beating effects after a delay line) signatures of stimulated emission or absorption of gravitons with present-day technology. Apart from marking the transition from passively observing to actively manipulating such a natural phenomenon, this could also be used as a complementary detection scheme. Nonclassical photon states may improve the sensitivity and might even allow us to test certain quantum aspects of the gravitational field.