Can we detect quantum gravity with compact binary inspirals?

Abstract

Treating general relativity as an effective field theory, we compute the leading-order quantum corrections to the orbits and gravitational-wave emission of astrophysical compact binaries. These corrections are independent of the (unknown) nature of quantum gravity at high energies, and generate a phase shift and amplitude increase in the observed gravitational-wave signal. Unfortunately (but unsurprisingly), these corrections are undetectably small, even in the most optimistic observational scenarios.