Fiber-optical analogue of the event horizon

摘要

The physics at the event horizon resembles the behavior of waves in movingmedia. Horizons are formed where the local speed of the medium exceeds the wavevelocity. We use ultrashort pulses in microstructured optical fibers todemonstrate the formation of an artificial event horizon in optics. We observeda classical optical effect, the blue-shifting of light at a white-hole horizon.We also show by theoretical calculations that such a system is capable ofprobing the quantum effects of horizons, in particular Hawking radiation.