Gravitons to Photons--Attenuation of Gravitational Waves

In this essay, we examine the response of an Unruh–DeWitt (UD) detector (a quantum two-level system) to a gravitational wave background. The spectrum of the UD detector is of the same form as some scattering processes or three body decays such as muon-electron scattering or muon decay. Based on this similarity, we propose that the UD detector response implies a “decay” or attenuation of gravitons, G, into photons, γ, via G+G→γ+γ or G→γ+γ+G. Over large distances such a decay/attenuation may have consequences in regard to the detection of gravitational waves.