In 2022, a team of physicists used a single row of atomic chains to simulate a black hole’s event horizon and observed the equivalent of what we call “Hawking radiation”—particles in quantum fluctuations caused by black holes’ interruptions in space-time.
They believe the research could help resolve a conflict between two existing theories that describe the universe: general relativity, which treats gravity as a continuous field in space-time; and quantum mechanics, which uses probability mathematics to describe the universe. Describe the behavior of independent particles. In order to create a universally applicable unified theory of quantum gravity, these two currently incompatible theories need to find a way to merge with each other.
So, here’s where black holes come in – perhaps the weirdest and most extreme objects in the universe. These massive objects are so dense that no speed in the universe is fast enough to escape within a certain distance of the black hole’s center of mass – not even the speed of light.
This distance, which varies depending on the mass of the black hole, is called the “event horizon.” In layman’s terms, once an object crosses its boundaries, we can only imagine what will happen because nothing brings back important information about its fate. But in 1974, Stephen Hawking proposed that the interruption of quantum fluctuations by the event horizon would produce a radiation very similar to thermal radiation.
If Hawking radiation exists, it is too faint for us to detect. We may never be able to sift it out from the hissing static of the universe. But we can explore its properties by creating a black hole analogy in a laboratory setting.
This has been done before, but in November 2022, a team led by Lotte Mertens at the University of Amsterdam tried something new.
The simulated experimental environment is relatively simple. Hawking radiation only jumps at a specific amplitude.
Scientists simulate a twisting and spinning black hole in the laboratory. (Picture/wiki)
Physicists use specific one-dimensional chains of atoms to simulate electrons “jumping” between different locations. By adjusting the ease of these jumps, they managed to create a situation that simulates a black hole’s event horizon, where the wave properties of electrons are disturbed.
The false event horizon created in this experiment produced an effect that caused an increase in temperature, consistent with what would be theoretically expected for an equivalent black hole system. However, this phenomenon only occurs if part of the chain of atoms extends beyond the event horizon.
The discovery suggests that entanglement between particles crossing the event horizon may play a key role in producing what is known as Hawking radiation. In simulation experiments, this Hawking radiation only exhibits thermal radiation characteristics within a specific jump amplitude range, and when space-time is assumed to be “flat” at the beginning of the simulation. This suggests that Hawking radiation may only take on thermal properties under certain circumstances, particularly if gravity causes changes in the distortion of space-time.
The implications of this for understanding quantum gravity are not entirely clear, but the model provides a way to study the emergence of Hawking radiation in an environment that is not affected by the complex dynamics of black hole formation. Because the model is relatively simple, it can be applied in a variety of experimental settings, providing researchers with a valuable research tool.
“This could open a way to explore aspects of fundamental quantum mechanics in a variety of condensed matter environments, also involving gravity and curved spacetime,” the researchers wrote.
The research has been published in the journal Physical Review Research.
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Source of the first image: (© Odd Feed) ccBY4.0
Image source: wiki ccBY4.0
Reference papers:
1.Thermalization by a synthetic horizon.Physical Review Research.
Further reading:
1.Astronomers discover the ‘oldest black hole’ is only 470 million years younger than the universe
