Dyson’s conjecture on single-graviton detectability

Determine whether any conceivable experiment within our universe can detect a single graviton, thereby assessing the validity of Dyson’s conjecture that single-graviton detection is fundamentally impossible.

Background

The paper motivates indirect tests of quantum gravity by referencing Dyson’s conjecture, which asserts the impossibility of detecting a single graviton by any experiment in our universe. This longstanding conjecture shapes the experimental landscape and motivates alternative approaches that seek indirect evidence for gravitons, such as observing decoherence effects induced by graviton noise.

The authors propose an interferometric setup where entanglement between two macroscopic mirrors would be destroyed by graviton-induced noise, offering an indirect route to infer the quantum nature of gravitational waves. Resolving whether single-graviton detection is possible remains a foundational question; indirect detection strategies provide complementary evidence but do not by themselves refute or confirm the conjecture.