Simulated Black Hole Analogue Observes Hawking Radiation Equivalent: Implications for Quantum Gravity

Black hole counterparts can tell us a thing or two about the elusive radiation theoretically emitted by real objects.

Using a series of atoms in a single coil to simulate the event horizon of a black hole, a team of physicists in 2022 observed radiation equivalent to what we call Hawking radiation – particles resulting from the disruption of quantum fluctuations caused by the penetration of a black hole. Leisure time.

They say this could help resolve tensions between two currently irreconcilable frameworks for describing the universe: general relativity, which describes the behavior of gravity as a continuous field known as spacetime; and quantum mechanics, which describes the behavior of discrete particles using the mathematics of probability.

For a unified theory of quantum gravity to be universally applicable, these two immiscible theories need to find a way to reconcile.

This is where black holes appear, perhaps the strangest and most extreme objects in the universe. These massive objects are so dense that, within a certain distance from the black hole’s center of mass, the universe does not have enough speed to escape it. Not even the speed of light.

that distance, uneven This is called the event horizon, depending on the mass of the black hole. Once an object crosses its borders, we can only imagine what happens, because no important information can be returned about its fate. But in 1974, Stephen Hawking proposed that the disruption of quantum fluctuations caused by event horizons produces a type of radiation very similar to thermal radiation.

If Hawking radiation does exist, it is still too faint to detect. It’s possible we’ll never filter it out of the silence of the universe. But we can verify its properties by creating black hole analogues in the laboratory.

This has been done before, but in November 2022, a team led by Lotte Mertens from the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands tried something new.

The one-dimensional chain of atoms serves as a path to “jump” from one position to another. By adjusting the ease with which these jumps occur, physicists can cause certain properties to disappear, effectively creating a kind of event horizon that disrupts the wave-like nature of electrons.

The impact of the false event horizon produced a temperature rise consistent with theoretical predictions for an equivalent black hole system, the team said. But only if part of the chain goes beyond the event horizon.

This could mean that the entanglement of particles crossing the event horizon plays an important role in generating Hawking radiation.

The simulated Hawking radiation is only thermal over a certain range of jump amplitudes, and in those simulations they begin to simulate a type of spacetime that is considered “flat”. This suggests that Hawking radiation may only be thermal in many situations, and when there is a change in the curvature of space-time due to gravity.

It’s not clear what this means for quantum gravity, but the model offers a way to study the emergence of Hawking radiation in an environment unaffected by the wild dynamics of black hole formation. Because it is so simple, it can be applied in a variety of experimental settings, the researchers said.

“This could pave the way for exploring fundamental aspects of quantum mechanics along with gravity and curved space-time in various condensed matter settings.” The researchers wrote.

This research was published in Physical review research.

A version of this article was first published in November 2022.

2023-11-10 22:35:36
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