I.F.T.

Almuerzo-Seminario

(Lunch seminar)

March 7th 2000, 15:00 p.m.

Black holes in Bose-Einstein Condensates

Luis Garay

(IMAFF, CSIC)

The sonic analogue of a gravitational black hole in dilute-gas Bose-Einstein condensates is investigated. It is shown that there exist both dynamically stable and unstable configurations which, in the hydrodynamic limit, exhibit a behaviour completely analogous to that of gravitational black holes. The dynamical instabilities involve creation of quasiparticle pairs in positive and negative energy states, just as in the well-known suggested mechanism for black hole evaporation. We have also simulated the creation of a stable sonic black hole by solving the full Gross-Pitaevskii equation numerically for a condensate in which its characteristic parameters are changed adiabatically. A sonic black hole could in this way be created experimentally with state-of-the-art or planned technology.

Where: Modulo C-XVI, 3rd floor, Facultad de Ciencias U.A.M., C.U. Cantoblanco, 28049-Madrid