Observation of Stimulated Hawking Radiation in Optics

Understand

The theory of Hawking radiation can be tested in laboratory analogues of black holes.

• We use light pulses in nonlinear fiber optics to establish artificial event horizons.
• Each pulse generates a moving perturbation of the refractive index via the Kerr effect.
• Probe light perceives this as an event horizon when its group velocity, slowed down by the perturbation, matches the speed of the pulse.