Researchers Propose New Holographic Method to Simulate Black Holes with Tabletop Experience

A research team from the Osaka University, Nihon University and Chuo University proposed a new theoretical framework whose experience could be realized in a laboratory to better understand the physics of black holes. This project can shed light on the fundamental laws that govern the cosmos at incredibly small and very large scales.

Recently, the world was turned upside down when the Event Horizon telescope released the very first images of a black hole. Or, to be more precise, the images showed the luminous circle, called Einstein's ring, created by the light that barely escaped the understanding of the immense gravity of the black hole. This ring of light was due to the fact that, according to the theory of general relativity, the tissue of space-time itself was so deformed by the mass of the black hole that it acted as a large lens .

Unfortunately, our understanding of black holes remains incomplete, since the theory of general relativity, used to describe the laws of nature at the scale of stars and galaxies, is currently not compatible with quantum mechanics , our best theory of the functioning of the Universe. on very small scales. Since black holes, by definition, have a huge mass squeezed into a tiny space, reconciling these extremely successful but hitherto contradictory theories is necessary to understand them.

One possible approach to solving this enigma is string theory, according to which all matter consists of very small vibrating strings. A version of this theory predicts a correspondence between the laws of physics that we perceive in our four familiar dimensions (three dimensions of space and time) and strings in a space with an extra dimension. This is sometimes called a "holographic duality" because it is reminiscent of a two-dimensional holographic plate that contains all the information of a three-dimensional object.

In the recently published research, the authors, Koji Hashimoto (Osaka University), Keiju Murata (Nihon University) and Shunichiro Kinoshita (Chuo University) apply this concept to show how the surface of a sphere, in two dimensions, can be used in a tabletop experiment to model a three-dimensional black hole. In this configuration, the light emanating from one source at one point of the sphere is measured in another, which should show the black hole if the spherical material allows holography.

"The holographic image of a simulated black hole, if observed by this tabletop experiment, can serve as an entry into the world of quantum gravity," says author Hashimoto. The researchers also calculated the radius of the Einstein ring that would be observed if this theory was correct.

"We hope this project shows the way forward to better understand the fundamental functioning of our universe," says author Keiju Murata.