Quantum simulation of particle pair creation near the event horizon

Abstract Though it is still a big challenge to unify general relativity and quantum mechanics in modern physics, the theory of quantum field related with the gravitational effect has been well developed and some striking phenomena are predicted, such as Hawking radiation. However, the direct measure...

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Published inNational science review Vol. 7; no. 9; pp. 1476 - 1484
Main Authors Wang, Yao, Sheng, Chong, Lu, Yong-Heng, Gao, Jun, Chang, Yi-Jun, Pang, Xiao-Ling, Yang, Tian-Huai, Zhu, Shi-Ning, Liu, Hui, Jin, Xian-Min
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Oxford University Press 01.09.2020
Subjects
black hole
particle pair creation
general relativity
quantum simulation
transform optics
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Summary:Abstract Though it is still a big challenge to unify general relativity and quantum mechanics in modern physics, the theory of quantum field related with the gravitational effect has been well developed and some striking phenomena are predicted, such as Hawking radiation. However, the direct measurement of these quantum effects under general relativity is far beyond present experiment techniques. Fortunately, the emulation of general relativity phenomena in the laboratory has become accessible in recent years. However, up to now, these simulations are limited either in classical regime or in flat space whereas quantum simulation related with general relativity is rarely involved. Here we propose and experimentally demonstrate a quantum evolution of fermions in close proximity to an artificial black hole on a photonic chip. We successfully observe the acceleration behavior, quantum creation, and evolution of a fermion pair near the event horizon: a single-photon wave packet with positive energy escapes from the black hole while negative energy is captured. Our extensible platform not only provides a route to access quantum effects related with general relativity, but also has the potentiality to investigate quantum gravity in future. We demonstrate a quantum evolution of fermions in close proximity to an artificial black hole on a photonic chip, providing a route to access quantum effects related with general relativity and the potentiality to investigate quantum gravity in future.
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Equally contributed to this work.
ISSN:2095-5138
2053-714X
DOI:10.1093/nsr/nwaa111