Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

Communications Physics

Observation of a phase space horizon with surface gravity water waves

Georgi Gary Rozenman, Freyja Ullinger, Matthias Zimmermann, Maxim A. Efremov, Lev Shemer, Wolfgang P. Schleich, Ady Arie

Published May 22, 2024• 19 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Abstract In 1974, Stephen Hawking predicted that quantum effects in the proximity of a black hole lead to the emission of particles and black hole evaporation. At the very heart of this process lies a logarithmic phase singularity which leads to the Bose-Einstein statistics of Hawking radiation. An identical singularity appears in the elementary quantum system of the inverted harmonic oscillator. In this Letter we report the observation of the onset of this logarithmic phase singularity emerging at a horizon in phase space and giving rise to a Fermi-Dirac distribution. For this purpose, we utilize surface gravity water waves and freely propagate an appropriately tailored energy wave function of the inverted harmonic oscillator to reveal the phase space horizon and the intrinsic singularities. Due to the presence of an amplitude singularity in this system, the analogous quantities display a Fermi-Dirac rather than a Bose-Einstein distribution.

DOI
10.1038/s42005-024-01616-7

Related papers

The logarithmic phase singularity in the inverted harmonic oscillator

Freyja Ullinger, Matthias Zimmermann, Wolfgang P. Schleich

A spacetime singularity is located at the center of a black hole and surrounded by an event horizon, separating spacetime into two disjunct regions: one of them accessible to an outside observer and one that is not. At the event horizon, a logarithmic phase singularity emerges in the mode functions of a massless scalar field, being characteristic for Hawking radiation emitted by the black hole. We demonstrate that related features are present in the elementary quantum system of an inverted harmonic oscillator. Central to our analysis are the energy eigenfunctions of this system and their phase space representation. At first glance, neither a horizon nor a logarithmic phase dependence are apparent. However, both features are hidden in phase space and revealed by a suitable coordinate transformation. In particular, we show that the Fourier transform of a logarithmic phase leads to an expression that is reminiscent of a specific quantum statistics, governing the reflection and transmission coefficients of the inverted harmonic oscillator.

AVS Quantum Science•Apr 7, 2022•18 citations

Observation of Phase Space Dynamics of Inverted Harmonic Oscillator

Georgi Gary Rozenman, Maxim A. Efremov, Wolfgang P. Schleich +2 more

We have experimentally realized a parabolic potential barrier for surface gravity water waves. The analogy between the resulting wave equation and the Schrodinger equation for the inverted harmonic oscillator (IHO) enables us to study the propagation of quantum-mechanical wave packets with different average energies in this iconic scattering model. We observe a clear boundary in the phase-space dynamics, namely the separatrix, which distinguishes wave packets with energies below the maximum of the IHO potential from those with energies above it. In the former case, the wave packet is blocked, whereas in the latter case, it is transmitted. We also measure the corresponding variation in momentum during this process.

physics.class-phCross-listedarXiv:2607.18297•Jul 13, 2026•0 citations

Black-Hole evaporation and quantum-depletion in Bose–Einstein condensates

Ivan Arraut

We study the analogy between the Hawking radiation in Black-Holes and the quantum depletion process of a Bose–Einstein condensate by using the Bogoliubov transformations method. We find that the relation between the Bogoliubov coefficients is similar in both cases (in the appropriate regimes). We then connect the condensate variables with those associated to the Black-Hole, demonstrating then that the zero temperature regime of the condensate is equivalent to the existence of an event horizon in gravity.

arXiv:2006.09121•Modern Physics Letters A•Dec 7, 2020•7 citations

Mechanism of stimulated Hawking radiation in a laboratory Bose-Einstein condensate

Yi-Hsieh Wang, Ted Jacobson A, Mark Edwards +1 more

We model a sonic black-hole analog in a quasi-one-dimensional Bose-Einstein condensate, using a Gross-Pitaevskii equation matching the configuration of a recent experiment by Steinhauer [Nat. Phys. 10, 864 (2014)]. The model agrees well with important features of the experimental observations, demonstrating their hydrodynamic nature. We find that a zero-frequency bow wave is generated at the inner (white-hole) horizon, which grows in proportion to the square of the background condensate density. The relative motion of the black- and white-hole horizons produces a Doppler shift of the bow wave at the black hole, where it stimulates the emission of monochromatic Hawking radiation. The mechanism is confirmed using temporal and spatial windowed Fourier spectra of the condensate. Mean field behavior similar to that in the experiment can thus be fully explained without the presence of self-amplifying Hawking radiation.

arXiv:1605.01027•Physical Review A•Aug 17, 2017•40 citations

Dirac-Line Criticality and Emergent Horizons in Weyl Lifshitz Transitions

Iftekher S. Chowdhury, Hom Nath Dhungana, Shah Haque +2 more

Type-II Weyl fermions may emerge behind the event horizon of black holes. We employ the Painlevé-Gullstrand metric to study the surface of the Lifshitz transition at the horizon, equivalent to the interface separating the type-I and type-II Weyl states. We find several analogies between the black hole horizon and the transformation of type-I to type-II Weyl fermions through the Dirac line. We analyze the symmetry-protected topological order at the Lifshitz transition originating in semimetals. The emergence of Hawking radiation in Weyl semimetals is discussed. We show that the transition state from type-I to type-II Dirac fermions can be viewed as a black-hole horizon, which exhibits unique characteristics, including a Dirac-line Fermi surface with a nontrivial topological invariant and a critical chiral anomaly effect.

cond-mat.mes-hallCross-listedarXiv:2605.27453•May 26, 2026

Observing Hawking radiation in Bose-Einstein condensates via correlation measurements

Alessandro Fabbri

Observing quantum particle creation by black holes (Hawking radiation) in the astrophysical context is, in ordinary situations, hopeless. Nevertheless the Hawking effect, which depends only on kinematical properties of wave propagation in the presence of horizons, is present also in nongravitational contexts, for instance in stationary fluids undergoing supersonic flow. We present results on how to observe the analog Hawking radiation in Bose-Einstein condensates by a direct measurement of the density correlations due to the phonon pairs (Hawking quanta-partner) created by the acoustic horizon.

arXiv:1212.5392•Dec 21, 2012•0 citations
Abstract In 1974, Stephen Hawking predicted that quantum effects in the proximity of a black hole lead to the emission of particles and black hole evaporation. At the very heart of this process lies a logarithmic phase singularity which leads to the Bose-Einstein statistics of Hawking radiation. An identical singularity appears in the elementary quantum system of the inverted harmonic oscillator. In this Letter we report the observation of the onset of this logarithmic phase singularity emerging at a horizon in phase space and giving rise to a Fermi-Dirac distribution. For this purpose, we utilize surface gravity water waves and freely propagate an appropriately tailored energy wave function of the inverted harmonic oscillator to reveal the phase space horizon and the intrinsic singularities. Due to the presence of an amplitude singularity in this system, the analogous quantities display a Fermi-Dirac rather than a Bose-Einstein distribution.
A spacetime singularity is located at the center of a black hole and surrounded by an event horizon, separating spacetime into two disjunct regions: one of them accessible to an outside observer and one that is not. At the event horizon, a logarithmic phase singularity emerges in the mode functions of a massless scalar field, being characteristic for Hawking radiation emitted by the black hole. We demonstrate that related features are present in the elementary quantum system of an inverted harmonic oscillator. Central to our analysis are the energy eigenfunctions of this system and their phase space representation. At first glance, neither a horizon nor a logarithmic phase dependence are apparent. However, both features are hidden in phase space and revealed by a suitable coordinate transformation. In particular, we show that the Fourier transform of a logarithmic phase leads to an expression that is reminiscent of a specific quantum statistics, governing the reflection and transmission coefficients of the inverted harmonic oscillator.
We have experimentally realized a parabolic potential barrier for surface gravity water waves. The analogy between the resulting wave equation and the Schrodinger equation for the inverted harmonic oscillator (IHO) enables us to study the propagation of quantum-mechanical wave packets with different average energies in this iconic scattering model. We observe a clear boundary in the phase-space dynamics, namely the separatrix, which distinguishes wave packets with energies below the maximum of the IHO potential from those with energies above it. In the former case, the wave packet is blocked, whereas in the latter case, it is transmitted. We also measure the corresponding variation in momentum during this process.
We study the analogy between the Hawking radiation in Black-Holes and the quantum depletion process of a Bose–Einstein condensate by using the Bogoliubov transformations method. We find that the relation between the Bogoliubov coefficients is similar in both cases (in the appropriate regimes). We then connect the condensate variables with those associated to the Black-Hole, demonstrating then that the zero temperature regime of the condensate is equivalent to the existence of an event horizon in gravity.
We model a sonic black-hole analog in a quasi-one-dimensional Bose-Einstein condensate, using a Gross-Pitaevskii equation matching the configuration of a recent experiment by Steinhauer [Nat. Phys. 10, 864 (2014)]. The model agrees well with important features of the experimental observations, demonstrating their hydrodynamic nature. We find that a zero-frequency bow wave is generated at the inner (white-hole) horizon, which grows in proportion to the square of the background condensate density. The relative motion of the black- and white-hole horizons produces a Doppler shift of the bow wave at the black hole, where it stimulates the emission of monochromatic Hawking radiation. The mechanism is confirmed using temporal and spatial windowed Fourier spectra of the condensate. Mean field behavior similar to that in the experiment can thus be fully explained without the presence of self-amplifying Hawking radiation.
Type-II Weyl fermions may emerge behind the event horizon of black holes. We employ the Painlevé-Gullstrand metric to study the surface of the Lifshitz transition at the horizon, equivalent to the interface separating the type-I and type-II Weyl states. We find several analogies between the black hole horizon and the transformation of type-I to type-II Weyl fermions through the Dirac line. We analyze the symmetry-protected topological order at the Lifshitz transition originating in semimetals. The emergence of Hawking radiation in Weyl semimetals is discussed. We show that the transition state from type-I to type-II Dirac fermions can be viewed as a black-hole horizon, which exhibits unique characteristics, including a Dirac-line Fermi surface with a nontrivial topological invariant and a critical chiral anomaly effect.
Observing quantum particle creation by black holes (Hawking radiation) in the astrophysical context is, in ordinary situations, hopeless. Nevertheless the Hawking effect, which depends only on kinematical properties of wave propagation in the presence of horizons, is present also in nongravitational contexts, for instance in stationary fluids undergoing supersonic flow. We present results on how to observe the analog Hawking radiation in Bose-Einstein condensates by a direct measurement of the density correlations due to the phonon pairs (Hawking quanta-partner) created by the acoustic horizon.