Signatures of Correlation of Spacetime Fluctuations in Laser Interferometers

Abstract Spacetime fluctuations (SFs), a common feature of different proposed gravity models, could be detected using laser interferometers. In the search for SFs, a correspondence between the expected output signals and different gravity models is needed, both for guiding the design of future interferometers, and for identifying the signal in experimental data. In this work, we provide such a correspondence for some classes of SFs and geometries of the interferometers. We consider three different classes of SFs, characterised by the decay behaviours and symmetries of their two-point correlation functions. Our approach applies to Michelson laser interferometers with Fabry-Pérot arm cavities such as the km-long LIGO detectors and those without arm cavities such as the laboratory-scale setups QUEST and GQuEST. Analysing the expected interferometer output signals, we identify three characteristic signatures for each class of SF. The designed broadband sensitivity of the laboratory-scale instruments would allow all characteristic signatures of the different classes of SFs to be observed, and such observations could provide more information on the nature of the SFs than those from LIGO. On the other hand, we find that LIGO is better suited for detecting the bare presence or absence of SFs.