gr-qc/0005131 [abs, src, ps, other] :
Title: Sonic black holes in dilute Bose-Einstein condensates
Authors: L. J. Garay, J. R. Anglin, J. I. Cirac, P. Zoller
Comments: RevTeX, 13 pages, 5 figures
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 behavior completely analogous to that of gravitational black holes. The
dynamical instabilities involve creation of quasiparticle pairs in positive
and negative energy states. We illustrate these features in two qualitatively
different one-dimensional models, namely, a long, thin condensate with an
outcoupler laser beam providing an `atom sink', and a tight ring-shaped
condensate. We have also simulated the creation of a stable sonic black hole
by solving the Gross-Pitaevskii equation numerically for a condensate subject
to a trapping potential which is adiabatically deformed. A sonic black hole
could in this way be created experimentally with state-of-the-art or planned
technology. (258kb)
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