Quantum simulation of Unruh-DeWitt detectors with nonlinear optics

Autor: Kevin J. Resch, Eugene Adjei, Agata M. Brańczyk
Rok vydání: 2020
Předmět:
Zdroj: Physical Review A. 102
ISSN: 2469-9934
2469-9926
DOI: 10.1103/physreva.102.033506
Popis: We propose a method for simulating an Unruh-DeWitt detector, coupled to a 1+1-dimensional massless scalar field, with a suitably-engineered $\chi^{(2)}$ nonlinear interaction. In this simulation, the parameter playing the role of the detector acceleration is played by the relative inverse-group-velocity gradient inside the nonlinear material. We identify experimental parameters that tune the detector energy gap, acceleration, and switching function. This system can simulate time-dependent acceleration, time-dependent detector energy gaps, and non-vacuum initial detector-field states. Furthermore, for very short materials, the system can simulate the weak anti-Unruh effect, in which the response of the detector decreases with acceleration. While some Unruh-related phenomena have been investigated in nonlinear optics, this is the first proposal for simulating an Unruh-DeWitt detector in these systems.
Comment: 5 pages main text (10 pages total), 2 figures
Databáze: OpenAIRE