Physics & Astronomy Quantum Nano Seminar - Rivka Bekenstein, Harvard University
Title: "Emulating Gravity with Linear and Nonlinear Optical Settings"
Location
Wilder 202
Sponsored by
Physics & Astronomy Department
Audience
Public
Abstract: A century passed since Einstein published the theory of General Relativity (GR), and some predictions of GR still elude observation. Hence, analogous systems, such as optical systems, have been suggested as emulation platforms. GR is inherently nonlinear: for example, masses dynamics is affected by the curved space they themselves induce. However, thus far all GR optical emulations demonstrated linear dynamics, where fix curved background determines the evolution of the electromagnetic (EM) waves.
I will discuss our demonstration of analogous gravitational effects with optical wavepackets under a long-range thermal nonlinearity. This optical system is mathematically equivalent to the Newton–Schrödinger model, which has been studied strictly theoretically, and describe a mass density evolving according to the Schrödinger equation in the presence of a gravitational potential created by the mass density itself. These wavepackets interact by the curved space they themselves induce, exhibiting complex nonlinear dynamics arising from the interplay between diffraction and the emulated gravity.
Finally, I will discuss how we exploit the properties of EM fields in curved space, to present a new class of nanophotonic structures which facilitate control over the evolution of light, through the space curvature of the medium within which the light is propagating. This general method of fabricating curved-space structures for controlling electromagnetic waves can serve as the basis for curved nanophotonics: a generic concept for controlling electromagnetic waves that can be employed in integrated complex photonic circuits.
R. Bekenstein et al., Optical simulations of gravitational effects in the Newton–Schrödinger system, Nature Physics 11 (2015).
R. Bekenstein et al., Control of light by curved space in nanophotonic structures, Nature Photonics 11 (2017)
Location
Wilder 202
Sponsored by
Physics & Astronomy Department
Audience
Public
