An all-optical event horizon in an optical analogue of a Laval nozzle

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates an all-optical event horizon in a waveguide structure mimicking a hydrodynamic Laval nozzle, providing a new platform for experiments related to analogue gravity phenomena.

Contribution

It introduces an experimental realization of an optical analogue of a Laval nozzle to create event horizons for gravity analogue studies.

Findings

Formation of an optical event horizon at the nozzle throat

Experimental validation of light flow mimicking transonic fluid dynamics

Potential for new gravity analogue experiments

Abstract

Exploiting the fact that light propagation in defocusing nonlinear media can mimic the transonic flow of an equivalent fluid, we demonstrate experimentally the formation of an all-optical event horizon in a waveguide structure akin to a hydrodynamic Laval nozzle. The analogue event horizon, which forms at the nozzle throat is suggested as a novel platform for analogous gravity experiments.