Analog models of gravity are attempts to
model
A model is an informative representation of an object, person, or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin , .
Models can be divided in ...
various phenomena of
general relativity
General relativity, also known as the general theory of relativity, and as Einstein's theory of gravity, is the differential geometry, geometric theory of gravitation published by Albert Einstein in 1915 and is the current description of grav ...
(e.g.,
black holes
A black hole is a massive, compact astronomical object so dense that its gravity prevents anything from escaping, even light. Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass will form a black hole. Th ...
or
cosmological
Cosmology () is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe, the cosmos. The term ''cosmology'' was first used in English in 1656 in Thomas Blount's ''Glossographia'', with the meaning of "a speaking of the wo ...
geometries) using other
physical system
A physical system is a collection of physical objects under study. The collection differs from a set: all the objects must coexist and have some physical relationship.
In other words, it is a portion of the physical universe chosen for analys ...
s such as
waves
United States Naval Reserve (Women's Reserve), better known as the WAVES (for Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service), was the women's branch of the United States Naval Reserve during World War II. It was established on July 21, 1942, ...
in a moving fluid and
electromagnetic waves
In physics, electromagnetic radiation (EMR) is a self-propagating wave of the electromagnetic field that carries momentum and radiant energy through space. It encompasses a broad spectrum, classified by frequency or its inverse, wavelength, ran ...
in a
dielectric
In electromagnetism, a dielectric (or dielectric medium) is an Insulator (electricity), electrical insulator that can be Polarisability, polarised by an applied electric field. When a dielectric material is placed in an electric field, electric ...
medium. These analogs (or analogies) serve to provide new ways of looking at problems, permit ideas from other realms of science to be applied, and may create opportunities for practical experiments within the analog that can be applied back to the source phenomena.
Analog models of gravity have been used in hundreds of published articles in the last decade.
Bose-Einstein condensates
It has been shown that
Bose-Einstein condensates (BEC) are a good platform to study analog gravity. Rotating blackholes described by
Kerr metric
The Kerr metric or Kerr geometry describes the geometry of empty spacetime around a rotating uncharged axially symmetric black hole with a quasispherical event horizon. The Kerr metric is an exact solution of the Einstein field equations of gen ...
have been implemented in a BEC of
exciton-polaritons (a quantum fluid of light).
Gravity waves
Gravity waves
In fluid dynamics, gravity waves are waves in a fluid medium or at the interface between two media when the force of gravity or buoyancy tries to restore equilibrium. An example of such an interface is that between the atmosphere and the oc ...
have been recognized as a promising system for studying analog gravity models. Recent experiments have demonstrated that these waves can effectively simulate phase space horizons, drawing parallels to black hole physics. Specifically, the use of surface gravity water waves has enabled the observation of logarithmic phase singularities and the onset of
Fermi–Dirac statistics
Fermi–Dirac statistics is a type of quantum statistics that applies to the physics of a system consisting of many non-interacting, identical particles that obey the Pauli exclusion principle. A result is the Fermi–Dirac distribution of part ...
, phenomena typically associated with quantum systems and gravitational theories.
This approach provides valuable insights into the analogies between classical wave systems and quantum mechanical behaviors, expanding the possibilities for exploring gravitational analogs in a controlled laboratory environment.
See also
*
Acoustic metric
*
Transformation optics
*
Optical metric#Analogue gravity
*
Optical black hole
*
Sonic black hole
References
General relativity
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