Atomic Quantum Sensors for High-Frequency Gravitational Wave Searches

Abstract

High-frequency gravitational waves (GWs), spanning frequencies from the microwave to the optical band, remain experimentally unexplored despite strong motivation from early-Universe dynamics, high-energy cosmology, and exotic compact objects. We propose a detection framework in which an incident GW excites an eigenmode of a high-$Q$ resonator in the presence of a static magnetic field through GW-induced electromagnetic mode conversion; the resulting cavity field is then read out using atomic sensors placed outside the magnetized volume. We analyze two concrete architectures: microwave detection based on Rydberg transitions and optical/near-infrared Raman schemes. For each, we derive projected strain sensitivities achievable with realistic, though ambitious, magnetic fields, cavity parameters, and atomic ensembles. Under optimistic assumptions on cavity performance, signal coherence, and technical noise, optical Raman implementations could approach benchmark narrowband coherent strain sensitivities relevant for speculative high frequency GW scenarios, while microwave systems may probe benchmark sensitivities in an otherwise unexplored frequency range. These setups motivate advances in high-$Q$ cavities, strong-field magnets, and quantum-limited atomic sensors, with broader implications for quantum instrumentation and fundamental physics.