LU13319 -
It
is a remarkable prediction of quantum field theory that the vacuum can
generate real particles (pairs of photons) when a reflecting surface
suddenly accelerates. We have created an acoustic analog to this
effect using a Bose-Einstein condensate. Instead of creating photons, we
generate pairs of phonons by rapidly changing the speed of sound in a
condensate. This process was first predicted for electromagnetism in
1970 and is known as the dynamical Casmir effect. The effect is related
to Hawking radiation, a process in which particles are spontaneously
produced at the horizon of a black hole. An extension of our measurement
technique may permit the observation of "sonic Hawking radiation", in
an appropriately tailored Bose-Einstein condensate.
It
is a remarkable prediction of quantum field theory that the vacuum can
generate real particles (pairs of photons) when a reflecting surface
suddenly accelerates. We have created an acoustic analog to this
effect using a Bose-Einstein condensate. Instead of creating photons, we
generate pairs of phonons by rapidly changing the speed of sound in a
condensate. This process was first predicted for electromagnetism in
1970 and is known as the dynamical Casmir effect. The effect is related
to Hawking radiation, a process in which particles are spontaneously
produced at the horizon of a black hole. An extension of our measurement
technique may permit the observation of "sonic Hawking radiation", in
an appropriately tailored Bose-Einstein condensate. 