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Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference: GR/R09534/01
Title: Optical Black Holes. Theoretical Studies For Future Experiments
Principal Investigator: Leonhardt, Professor U
Other Investigators:
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:
Department: Physics and Astronomy
Organisation: University of St Andrews
Scheme: Fast Stream
Starts: 15 January 2001 Ends: 14 January 2003 Value (£): 62,663
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:
Light-Matter Interactions
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:
No relevance to Underpinning Sectors
Related Grants:
Panel History:  
Summary on Grant Application Form
We plan to explore theoretically various ideas in detail for creating laboratory-scale black holes. Five areas should be studied.1. A controlled launch of a cold-atom vortex in an atom trap. This could generate the flow required to trap light that comes closer than a critical distance to the cortex core (optical black hole).2. Many detailed issued of EIT in moving media need to be clarified before trying a serious experimental attempt - the influence of residual losses, the Doppler shift of the driving beam, and the finite width of the EIT resonance.3. An optical black hole should also show signs of Hawing radiation.4. Rotating solids will perhaps measurably radiate as well if EIT in solids could be achieved.5. Reversing the traditional role of light and matter, EIT-induced forces on cold atoms could be used to build novel atomic wave guides. In the long run they may even lead to black holes made of light.
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Organisation Website: http://www.st-and.ac.uk