UK researchers have, for the first time, created a novel experimental platform, dubbed a "quantum whirlpool". It mimics a black hole in superfluid helium, allowing scientists to study in unprecedented detail the behavior and interactions of black hole-like phenomena in their environment.
Observing the microwave dynamics on the surface of the superfluid helium, the researchers suggest that these "quantum whirlpools" model the gravitational conditions found near rotating black holes. The research was published in Nature on March 20th.
The researchers constructed the quantum simulator using superfluid helium, an exotic state of matter with a viscosity five hundred times less than that of water. Because it flows without friction, this form of helium exhibits unusual quantum effects, qualifying it as a quantum fluid. The team placed the helium in a chamber fitted with a propeller at its base. As the propeller rotated, the superfluid helium formed a whirlpool-like vortex.
The team built a custom cryogenic system that could house several liters of superfluid helium at temperatures below -456°F (-271°C). At such temperatures, liquid helium acquires unusual quantum properties.
Dr. Patrick Simula, lead author of the paper and a member of the School of Mathematical Sciences at the University of Nottingham, explained that superfluid helium contains tiny objects known as quantized vortices, which tend to repel one another. In their new device, they successfully confined tens of thousands of these quantum twisters into a compact object resembling a tiny whirlpool, achieving record vortex strengths in the quantum fluid realm.
The researchers identified striking similarities between the gravitational influence of their vortex and the warping of space-time around a black hole. This finding opens up new avenues for simulating finite-temperature quantum field theories in the intricate curvature of spacetime, paving the way for advanced studies in the highly complex realm of curved space-time.
Underscoring the significance of their achievement, Silke Weinfurtner, who led the research, remarked that with more sophisticated experiments, the team could push this line of research to new heights, potentially enabling scientists to predict the behavior of quantum fields in the warped spacetime surrounding astrophysical black holes.
