A better black hole laser may prove a circuitous ‘Theory of Everything’

The fundamental forces of physics govern the matter comprising the Universe, yet exactly how these forces work together is still not fully understood. The existence of Hawking radiation — the particle emission from near black holes — indicates that general relativity and quantum mechanics must cooperate. But directly observing Hawking radiation from a black hole is nearly impossible. So how can researchers study it to better understand how the forces integrate into a “Theory of Everything”? According to Hiroshima University doctoral student Haruna Katayama, since researchers cannot go to the Hawking radiation, it must be brought to them. She proposed a quantum circuit that acts as a black hole laser using an analogue black hole and a white hole as a resonator to amplify weak Hawking radiation. The proposal was published in Scientific Reports. “In the proposed circuit, the metamaterial element makes it possible for Hawking radiation to travel back and forth between horizons, and the Josephson effect plays an important role in amplifying Hawking radiation through the mode conversion at the horizons, mimicking the behavior between the black and white holes,” Katayama said. The proposed laser also provides a future light source for quantum information technology.