Optical analogues of black-hole horizons
Hawking radiation is unlikely to be measured from a real black hole, but can be tested in laboratory analogues. It was predicted as a consequence of quantum mechanics and general relativity, but turned out to be more universal. A refractive index perturbation produces an optical analogue of the blac...
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| Published in | Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series A: Mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences Vol. 378; no. 2177; p. 20190232 |
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| Main Author | |
| Format | Journal Article |
| Language | English |
| Published |
The Royal Society Publishing
07.08.2020
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| Subjects | |
| Online Access | Get full text |
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| Summary: | Hawking radiation is unlikely to be measured from a real black hole, but can be tested in laboratory analogues. It was predicted as a consequence of quantum mechanics and general relativity, but turned out to be more universal. A refractive index perturbation produces an optical analogue of the black-hole horizon and Hawking radiation that is made of light. We discuss the central and recent experiments of the optical analogue, using hands-on physics. We stress the roles of classical fields, negative frequencies, ‘regular optics’ and dispersion. Opportunities and challenges ahead are briefly mentioned. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘The next generation of analogue gravity experiments’. |
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| Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 One contribution of 12 to a discussion meeting issue ‘The next generation of analogue gravity experiments’. |
| ISSN: | 1364-503X 1471-2962 |
| DOI: | 10.1098/rsta.2019.0232 |