Mini-detectors for the gigantic? Bose-Einstein condensates are currently not able to detect gravitational waves
Thursday, December 13, 2018 - 08:00
in Physics & Chemistry
The gravitational waves created by black holes or neutron stars in the depths of space have been found to reach Earth. Their effects, however, are so small that they can only be observed using kilometer-long measurement facilities. Physicists are therefore discussing whether ultracold and miniscule Bose-Einstein condensates with their ordered quantum properties could also detect these waves. Prof. Ralf Schützhold from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) and the TU Dresden has studied the basis of these suggestions and writes in the journal Physical Review D that such evidence is far beyond the reach of current methods.