Analogue quantum gravity in hyperbolic metamaterials

TL;DR

This paper proposes an analogue model of quantum gravity using hyperbolic metamaterials, where sound waves mimic gravitational waves and phonons resemble gravitons, especially near phase transitions, with potential observable effects like enhanced sonoluminescence.

Contribution

It introduces a novel analogy between sound waves in hyperbolic metamaterials and gravitational phenomena, enabling controllable quantum gravity effects.

Findings

Sound waves in hyperbolic metamaterials resemble gravitational waves.

Phonons in these materials are analogous to gravitons.

Enhanced sonoluminescence predicted near phase transitions.

Abstract

It is well known that extraordinary photons in hyperbolic metamaterials may be described as living in an effective Minkowski spacetime, which is defined by the peculiar form of the strongly anisotropic dielectric tensor in these metamaterials. Here we demonstrate that within the scope of this approximation the sound waves in hyperbolic metamaterials look similar to gravitational waves, and therefore the quantized sound waves (phonons) look similar to gravitons. Such an analogue model of quantum gravity looks especially interesting near the phase transitions in hyperbolic metamaterials where it becomes possible to switch quantum gravity effects on and off as a function of metamaterial temperature. We also predict strong enhancement of sonoluminescence in ferrofluid based hyperbolic metamaterials, which looks analogous to particle creation in strong gravitational fields.