Quantum simulation of Unruh-DeWitt detectors with nonlinear optics

Abstract

We propose a method for simulating an Unruh-DeWitt detector, coupled to a 1+1-dimensional massless scalar field, with a suitably-engineered $\chi^{(2)}$ nonlinear interaction. In this simulation, the parameter playing the role of the detector acceleration is played by the relative inverse-group-velocity gradient inside the nonlinear material. We identify experimental parameters that tune the detector energy gap, acceleration, and switching function. This system can simulate time-dependent acceleration, time-dependent detector energy gaps, and non-vacuum initial detector-field states. Furthermore, for very short materials, the system can simulate the weak anti-Unruh effect, in which the response of the detector decreases with acceleration. While some Unruh-related phenomena have been investigated in nonlinear optics, this is the first proposal for simulating an Unruh-DeWitt detector in these systems.