Abstract
The photonic crystal fibre (PCF) is a unique medium giving us the opportunity to perform experiments in carefully chosen regimes with precision and control. Using PCFs, we can perform analogue gravity experiments to study the physics of Hawking radiation and related processes such as resonant radiation. We discuss the similarities and differences between these processes and experimentally investigate the limits of effects of this type, dis- covering a new regime of record efficiency. We measure a 60% energy conversion efficiency from a pump to a visible femtosecond pulse by the process of resonant radiation, and demonstrate its extraordinary tunability in wavelength and bandwidth. Beyond analogue gravity, these femtosecond visible pulses provide a desirable laser source useful across a variety of modern scientific fields. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'The next generation of analogue gravity experiments'.
Highlights
Hawking radiation [1] was suggested as the first mechanism by which black holes could emit light from the event horizon
This mechanism involves the spontaneous creation of a particle-antiparticle pair near to the event horizon with the velocity of one particle causing it to escape while the velocity of the other leads it to fall in, which can be seen as the scattering of the quantum vacuum
While Hawking radiation itself is strictly defined as spontaneous pair creation near the event horizon of an astrophysical black hole, it is one particular instance of a more general effect of emission into positive and negative norm partner modes which we could call the Hawking process
Summary
Hawking radiation [1] was suggested as the first mechanism by which black holes could emit light from the event horizon This mechanism involves the spontaneous creation of a particle-antiparticle pair near to the event horizon with the velocity of one particle causing it to escape while the velocity of the other leads it to fall in, which can be seen as the scattering of the quantum vacuum. While Hawking radiation itself is strictly defined as spontaneous pair creation near the event horizon of an astrophysical black hole, it is one particular instance of a more general effect of emission into positive and negative norm partner modes which we could call the Hawking process.
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