Waterloo RQI seminar featuring Jerzy Paczos

Friday, September 12, 2025 11:00 am - 12:00 pm EDT (GMT -04:00)

Gravitational wave imprints on spontaneous emission

Jerzy Paczos | University of Stockholm

Gravitational-wave studies have so far focused mainly on their influence on classical test masses. In this talk, I will present our recent results, which show that gravitational waves also leave imprints on spontaneous emission from atoms. A passing gravitational wave induces spectral sidebands and angular modulations in the emitted radiation, while leaving the total decay rate unchanged. These signatures provide a new channel for estimating gravitational-wave parameters through photon statistics, opening the door to detection schemes based on state-of-the-art cold-atom experiments.

I will also discuss how our framework extends to other spacetime geometries, highlighting the potential of spontaneous emission as a probe of quantum field theory in curved spacetime.

Note: We encourage you to join us 15 minutes early for coffee and snacks before the talk begins.

Location