Dumb holes (also known as acoustic black holes) are fluid flows which include an "acoustic horizon:" a surface, analogous to a gravitational horizon, beyond which sound may pass but never classically return. Soundwaves in these flows will therefore experience "effective geometries" which are identical to black hole spacetimes up to a conformal factor. By adjusting the parameters of the fluid flow, it is possible to create an effective geometry which is conformal to the Anti-de Sitter black hole spacetime- a geometry which has recieved a great deal of attention in recent years due to its conjectured holographic duality to Conformal Field Theories. While we would not expect an acoustic analogue of the AdS-CFT correspondence to exist, this dumb hole provides a means, at least in principle, of experimentally testing the theoretical properties of the AdS spacetime. In particular, I have calculated the quasinormal mode spectrum of this acoustic geometry. / Graduate / 0986 / 0753 / jpbabb@yahoo.ca

The subject of study of this thesis is the Kerr-Newman-(anti-)de Sitter space- time, a rotating and charged exact black-hole solution of the Einstein-Maxwell equations with a non-zero cosmological constant. In the first part of the thesis we examine admissible extremal configurations, present the corresponding Penrose diagrams, and investigate the effects of frame-dragging. In the second part, we follow the motion of charged particles via the Lagrangian formalism, focusing on the equatorial plane and the axis where we arrived at some analytic results con- cerning the trajectories. Static particles, effective potentials and - in the case of the equatorial plane - stationary circular orbits are examined. We also perform numerical simulations of particle motion to be able to check our analytic results and also to foster our intuition regarding the behaviour of the test particles. The last part concerns quantum tunnelling of particles through the space-time's hori- zons, specifically the null geodesic method. The main goal of these computations is to obtain horizon temperatures, in which we succeed up to a constant multi- plicative factor. We discuss various pitfalls of the method and stake out a possible approach when applying it to the extreme horizons present in KN(a)dS. 1

Masters thesis of Liam Farrell, under the supervision of Dr. Duncan O'Dell. Successfully defended on August 26, 2021. / Caustics are regions created by the natural focusing of waves. Some examples include rainbows, spherical aberration, and sonic booms. The intensity of a caustic is singular in the classical ray theory, but can be smoothed out by taking into account the interference of waves. Caustics are generic in nature and are universally described by the mathematical theory known as catastrophe theory, which has successfully been applied to physically describe a wide variety of phenomena. Interestingly, caustics can exist in quantum mechanical systems in the form of phase singularities. Since phase is such a central concept in wave theory, this heralds the breakdown of the wave description of quantum mechanics and is in fact an example of a quantum catastrophe. Similarly to classical catastrophes, quantum catastrophes require some previously ignored property or degree of freedom to be taken into account in order to smooth the phase divergence. Different forms of spontaneous pair-production appear to suffer logarithmic phase singularities, specifically Hawking radiation from gravitational black holes. This is known as the trans-Planckian problem. We will investigate Hawking radiation formed in an analogue black hole consisting of a flowing ultra-cold Bose-Einstein condensate. By moving from an approximate hydrodynamical continuum description to a quantum mechanical discrete theory, the phase singularity is cured. We describe this process, and make connections to a new theory of logarithmic catastrophes. We show that our analogue Hawking radiation is mathematically described by a logarithmic Airy catastrophe, which further establishes the plausibility of pair-production being a quantum catastrophe / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

Hawking radiation is a phenomenon where the combination of geometry of spacetime around a black hole and quantum effects near its event horizon causes particle emission. Stephen Hawking was one of the first to make computations and conclude that this is valid for every black hole in general. Therefore, the goal of the project was to understand how the presence of a black hole changes geometry of spacetime, explore some of its peculiar properties and, finally, connect it to Hawking radiation. It turns out that one way to describe geometry around a black hole is to use the Schwarzchild metric which fully describes surroundings of a non-rotating and uncharged black hole. Using the so called Klein-Gordon equation and some additional computations one then sees that there’s indeed a particle emission. However, the radiation appears to be observer dependent which is due to curvature near event horizon. Hawking radiation has temperature which happens to be extremely small to detect, but this result reveals the fact that black holes radiate faster as they shrink. However, the time it takes for an arbitrary black hole to evaporate is much longer than the age of the Universe. Encountering those and some other challenges Hawking radiation remains hypothetical. / Hawkingstrålning är ett fenomen där kombinationen av geometri av rumtid runt ett svart hål och kvantmekaniska effekter nära dess händelsehorisont leder till partikel emission. Stephen Hawking var bland de första att göra beräkningar och dra slutsatsen att detta är giltigt för alla svarta hål. Syftet med projektet var därför att förstå hur närvaron av ett svart hål ändrar geometri av rumtid, undersöka dess vissa speciella egenskaper samt anknyta det till Hawkingstrålning. Det visar sig att ett sätt att beskriva geometri kring ett svart hål är att använda Schwarzchild metriken som helt beskriver omgivningen av ett icke roterande och oladdat svart hål .Använder man sig av så kallade Klein-Gordon ekvationen och några ytterligare beräkningar så kommer man till slutsaten att det verkligen finns enemission av partiklar. Emissionen verkar dock vara observatörsberoende på grund av krökning nära händelsehorisont. Hawkingstrålning har temperatur som visar sig vara extremt liten för att upptäcka, men resultaten avslöjar faktumet att svarta hål strålar ut snabbare då de krymper. Tiden det tar för ett godtyckligt svart hål att koka bort är dock mycket längre än åldern of Universum. På grund av dessa och några andra utmanningar återstår Hawkingstrålning hypotetiskt.

Cette thèse est dédiée à l'étude de l'analogue du rayonnement de Hawking dans les condensats de Bose-Einstein. Le premier chapitre présente de nouvelles configurations d'intérêt expérimental permettant de réaliser l'équivalent acoustique d'un trou noir gravitationnel dans l'écoulement d'un condensat atomique unidimensionnel. Nous donnons dans chaque cas une description analytique du profil de l'écoulement, des fluctuations quantiques associées et du spectre du rayonnement de Hawking. L'analyse des corrélations à deux corps de la densité dans l'espace des positions et des impulsions met en évidence l'émergence de signaux révélant l'effet Hawking dans nos systèmes. En démontrant une règle de somme vérifiée par la matrice densité à deux corps connexe, on montre que les corrélations à longue portée de la densité doivent être associées aux modifications diagonales de la matrice densité à deux corps lorsque l'écoulement du condensat présente un horizon acoustique. Motivés par des études expérimentales récentes de profils d'onde générés dans des condensats de polaritons en microcavité semi-conductrice, nous analysons dans un second chapitre les caractéristiques superfluides et dissipatives de l'écoulement autour d'un obstacle localisé d'un condensat de polaritons unidimensionnel obtenu par pompage incohérent. Nous examinons la réponse du condensat dans la limite des faibles perturbations et au moyen de la théorie de Whitham dans le régime non-linéaire. On identifie un régime dépendant du temps séparant deux types d'écoulement stationnaire et dissipatif : un principalement visqueux à faible vitesse et un autre caractérisé par un rayonnement de Cherenkov d'ondes de densité à grande vitesse. Nous présentons enfin des effets de polarisation obtenus en incluant le spin des polaritons dans la description du condensat et montrons dans le troisième chapitre que des effets similaires en présence d'un horizon acoustique pourraient être utilisés pour démontrer expérimentalement le rayonnement de Hawking dans les condensats de polaritons. / This thesis is devoted to the study of the analogue of Hawking radiation in Bose-Einstein condensates. The first chapter presents new configurations of experimental interest making it possible to realize the acoustic equivalent of a gravitational black hole in the flow of a one-dimensional atomic condensate. In each case we give an analytical description of the flow pattern, the associated quantum fluctuations, and the spectrum of Hawking radiation. Analysis of the two-body density correlations in position and momentum space emphasizes the occurrence of signals revealing the Hawking effect in our systems. By demonstrating a sum rule verified by the connected two-body density matrix we show that the long-range density correlations have to be associated to the diagonal modifications of the two-body density matrix when the flow of the condensate presents an acoustic horizon. Motivated by recent experimental studies of wave patterns generated in semiconductor microcavity polariton condensates we analyze in a second chapter superfluid and dissipative characteristics of the flow of a nonresonantly pumped one-dimensional polariton condensate past a localized obstacle. We examine the response of the condensate in the weak-perturbation limit and by means of Whitham theory in the nonlinear regime. We identify a time-dependent regime separating two types of stationary and dissipative flow: a mostly viscous one at low velocity and another one characterized by Cherenkov radiation of density waves at large velocity. Finally we present polarization effects obtained by including the spin of polaritons in the description of the condensate and show in the third chapter that similar effects in the presence of an acoustic horizon could be used to experimentally demonstrate Hawking radiation in polariton condensates.

Les deux principales prédictions de la théorie quantique des champs en espace-temps courbe, à savoir la radiation de Hawking et la production de paires de particules ayant lieu dans un espace-temps non stationnaire, n'ont jamais été testé expérimentalement et impliquent toutes deux des processus à ultra haute énergie. En conséquence, de telles prédictions doivent être considérées prudemment. En utilisant l'analogie avec des systèmes de matière condensée mise en avant par Unruh, leur analogue pourrait être testé en laboratoire. Par ailleurs, dispersion et dissipation sont toujours présentes dans de tels systèmes, ce qui régularise la théorie à courte distances. Lors d'expériences destinées à tester les prédictions citées ci-dessus, le bruit thermique modifiera le résultat. En effet, il existe une compétition entre l'émission stimulée dudit bruit thermique et l'émission spontanée issue du vide quantique. Afin de mesurer la radiation de Hawking analogue et de l'analogue des productions de paires (souvent appelé effet Casimir dynamique), il est alors nécessaire de calculer les conséquence de la dispersion et de la dissipation, ainsi que d'identifier des observables permettant de certifier que l'amission spontanée a eu lieu. Dans cette thèse, nous analyserons d'abord les effets de la dispersion et de la dissipation à la fois sur la radiation de Hawking et sur la production de paires de particules. Afin d'obtenir des résultats explicites, nous travaillerons avec l'espace-temps de de Sitter. Les symétries de la théorie nous permettront d'obtenir des résultats exacts. Ceux-ci seront alors appliqués aux trous noirs grâce aux ressemblances entre la région proche du trou noir et l'espace de de Sitter. Afin d’introduire de la dissipation, nous considérerons un modèle exactement soluble permettant de modéliser n'importe quel taux de dissipation. Dans un tel modèle, le champ est couplé de manière linéaire à un environnement contenant un ensemble dense de degrés de liberté. Dans un tel contexte, nous étudierons l'intrication des particules produites. Ensuite, nous considérerons des systèmes de matière condensée spécifiques, à savoir les condensats de Bose et les polaritons. Nous analyserons les effets de la dissipation sur l'intrication de l’effet Casimir dynamique. Enfin, nous étudieront de manière générique l'intrication de la radiation de Hawking en présence de dispersion pour des systèmes analogues. / The two main predictions of quantum field theory in curved space-time, namely Hawking radiation and cosmological pair production, have not been directly tested and involve ultra high energy configurations. As a consequence, they should be considered with caution. Using the analogy with condensed matter systems put forward by Unruh, their analogue versions could be tested in the lab. Moreover, the high energy behavior of these systems is known and involved dispersion and dissipation, which regulate the theory at short distances. When considering experiments which aim to test the above predictions, the thermal noise will contaminate the outcome. Indeed, there will be a competition between the stimulated emission from thermal noise and the spontaneous emission out of vacuum. In order to measure the quantum analogue Hawking radiation, or the analogue pair production also called dynamical Casimir effect, one should thus compute the consequences of ultraviolet dispersion and dissipation, and identify observables able to establish that the spontaneous emission took place. In this thesis, we first analyze the effects of dispersion and dissipation on both Hawking radiation and pair particle production. To get explicit results, we work in the context of de Sitter space. Using the extended symmetries of the theory in such a background, exact results are obtained. These are then transposed to the context of black holes using the correspondence between de Sitter space and the black hole near horizon region. To introduce dissipation, we consider an exactly solvable model producing any decay rate. In such a model, the field is linearly coupled to an environment containing a dense set of degrees of freedom. We also study the quantum entanglement of the particles so produced. In a second part, we consider explicit condensed matter systems, namely Bose Einstein condensates and exciton-polariton systems. We analyze the effects of dissipation on entanglement produced by the dynamical Casimir effect. As a final step, we study the entanglement of Hawking radiation in the presence of dispersion for a generic analogue system.

This thesis considers the problem of calculating and observing the mixing of modes of positive and negative frequency in inhomogeneous, dispersive media. Scattering of vacuum modes of the electromagnetic field at a moving interface in the refractive index of a dielectric medium is discussed. Kinematics arguments are used to demonstrate that this interface may, in a regime of linear dispersion, act as the analogue of the event horizon of a black hole to modes of the field. Furthermore, a study of the dispersion of the dielectric shows that five distinct configurations of modes of the inhomogeneous medium at the interface exist as a function of frequency. Thus it is shown that the interface is simultaneously a black- and white-hole horizon-like and horizonless emitter. The role, and importance, of negative-frequency modes of the field in mode conversion at the horizon is established and yields a calculation of the spontaneous photonic flux at the interface. An algorithm to calculate the scattering of vacuum modes at the interface is introduced. Spectra of the photonic flux in the moving and laboratory frame, for all modes and all realisable increase in the refractive index at the interface are computed. As a result of the various mode configurations, the spectra are highly structured in intervals with black-hole, white-hole and no horizon. The spectra are dominated by a negative-frequency mode, which is the partner in any Hawking-type emission. An experiment in which an incoming positive-frequency wave is populated with photons is assembled to observe the transfer of energy to outgoing waves of positive and negative frequency at the horizon. The effect of mode conversion at the interface is clearly shown to be a feature of horizon physics. This is a classical version of the quantum experiment that aims at validating the mechanism of Hawking radiation.

<p>We discuss various aspects of D-branes in string theory and holography in string theory and loop quantum gravity. </p><p>One way to study D-branes is from a microscopic perspective, using conformal field theory techniques. For example, we investigate the question of how D-branes can be introduced into orbifolded theories. Another way to study D-branes is from a space-time perspective. An example is provided by unstable D-branes, where we compute an effective action describing the decay of a bosonic D-brane. </p><p>The holographic principle is a proposed duality which suggests that a theory in any region has a dual description on the boundary. We explore two examples: (1) The area law for the entropy of a black hole in the framework of loop quantum gravity, related to particular regularizations of the area operator. (2) The AdS/CFT correspondence proposal, where we investigate a string pulsating on AdS using spin chains.</p>

We discuss various aspects of D-branes in string theory and holography in string theory and loop quantum gravity. One way to study D-branes is from a microscopic perspective, using conformal field theory techniques. For example, we investigate the question of how D-branes can be introduced into orbifolded theories. Another way to study D-branes is from a space-time perspective. An example is provided by unstable D-branes, where we compute an effective action describing the decay of a bosonic D-brane. The holographic principle is a proposed duality which suggests that a theory in any region has a dual description on the boundary. We explore two examples: (1) The area law for the entropy of a black hole in the framework of loop quantum gravity, related to particular regularizations of the area operator. (2) The AdS/CFT correspondence proposal, where we investigate a string pulsating on AdS using spin chains.