Nonlinearities in Black Hole Ringdowns and the Quantization of Gravity

Abstract

Einstein's theory of gravity admits a low energy effective quantum field description from which predictions beyond classical general relativity can be drawn. As gravitational wave detectors improve, one may ask whether non-classical features of such theory can be experimentally verified. Here we argue that nonlinear effects in black hole ringdowns can be sensitive to the graviton number statistics and other quantum properties of gravitational wave states. The prediction of ringdown signals, potentially measurable in the near future, might require the inclusion of quantum effects. This offers a new route to probing the quantum nature of gravity and gravitational wave entanglement.