Related papers: Quantum catastrophe of slow light
In diffraction catastrophes such as the rainbow the wave nature of light resolves ray singularities and draws delicate interference patterns. In quantum catastrophes such as the black hole the quantum nature of light resolves wave…
Wave catastrophes are characterized by logarithmic phase singularities. Examples are light at the horizon of a black hole, sound in transsonic fluids, waves in accelerated frames, light in singular dielectrics and slow light close to a zero…
Quantum gravity may allow black holes to tunnel into white holes. If so, the lifetime of a black hole could be shorter than the one given by Hawking evaporation, solving the information paradox. More interestingly, this could open to a new…
Quantum entanglement lies at the heart of quantum information theory, with applications to quantum computing, teleportation, cryptography and communication. In the apparently separate world of quantum gravity, the Hawking effect of…
Classical theory asserts that several electromagnetic waves cannot interact with matter if they interfere destructively to zero, whereas quantum mechanics predicts a nontrivial light-matter dynamics even when the average electric field…
Black holes are extreme manifestations of general relativity, so one might hope that exotic quantum effects would be amplified in their vicinities, perhaps providing clues to quantum gravity. The commonly accepted treatment of quantum…
Atoms and the planets acquire their stability from the quantum mechanical incompatibility of the position and momentum measurements. This incompatibility is expressed by the fundamental commutator [x, p_x]=i hbar, or equivalently, via the…
Rainbows are generally considered to be caused by static refraction and reflection. A primary and a secondary rainbow appear due to refraction and internal reflection in a raindrop as explained by Newton. The quantum nuclear rainbow, which…
Quantum evolution of a scalar field's modes propagating on quantum spacetime of a collapsing homogeneous dust ball is written effectively, as an evolution of the same quantum modes on a (semiclassical) dressed geometry. When the…
Shockwaves are violent nonlinear distortions of wave motion which have been reported in fluid waves and electromagnetic waves, while here we reveal that a shockwave can occur even in the quantum wave function of a single particle.…
The quantum boomerang effect is a counterintuitive phenomenon where a wave packet, despite having an initial momentum, returns to its starting position in a disordered medium. However, up to now, the experimental exploration of this effect…
Quantum physics is a linear theory, so it is somewhat puzzling that it can underlie very complex systems such as digital computers and life. This paper investigates how this is possible. Physically, such complex systems are necessarily…
Quantum interference takes center stage in the realm of quantum particles, playing a crucial role in revealing their wave-like nature and probabilistic behavior. It relies on the concept of superposition, where the probability amplitudes of…
The scattering of light by water droplets can produce one of the most beautiful phenomena in Nature: the rainbow. This optical phenomenon has analogues in molecular, atomic and nuclear physics. Recently, rainbow scattering has been shown to…
Quantum trapping potentials for ultracold gases change the landscape of classical properties of scattered light and matter. The atoms in a quantum many-body correlated phase of matter change the properties of light and vice versa. The…
Quantum vortices with more than a single circulation quantum are usually unstable and decay into clusters of smaller vortices. One way to prevent the decay is to place the vortex at the centre of a convergent (draining) fluid flow, which…
Black holes are more than just odd-looking curiosities in gravity theory. They uniquely intertwine the basic principles of General Relativity with those of Quantum Theory. Just by demanding that they nevertheless obey acceptable laws of…
We propose a resolution to the black-hole information-loss paradox: in one formulation of physical theory, information is preserved and macroscopic causality is violated; in another, causality is preserved and pure states evolve to mixed…
Free motion of a quantum particle with the wave function entirely comprised of plane waves with non-negative momenta may be accompanied by negative probability current, an effect called quantum backflow. The effect is weak and fragile, and…
Black Holes are possibly the most enigmatic objects in our Universe. From their detection in gravitational waves upon their mergers, to their snapshot eating at the centres of galaxies, black hole astrophysics has undergone an observational…