A Brief Review of Quantum Tunneling: Computational Approaches and Experimental Evidence

TL;DR

This paper reviews theoretical methods and experimental efforts related to quantum tunneling in Hawking radiation, highlighting semi-classical approaches, dynamical black hole extensions, and recent analogue experiments supporting the tunneling interpretation.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of both theoretical frameworks and experimental investigations into quantum tunneling and Hawking radiation, including recent advances in analogue systems.

Findings

Semi-classical methods elucidate Hawking radiation mechanisms.

Extensions to dynamical black holes incorporate evolving horizons.

Experimental analogue systems offer indirect support for tunneling phenomena.

Abstract

This paper presents a concise review of the quantum tunneling approach to Hawking radiation, covering its theoretical foundations, extensions, and experimental efforts. We begin by outlining the Hamilton-Jacobi and Parikh-Wilczek methods, which provide a semi-classical framework for deriving Hawking radiation from stationary black holes. The discussion is then extended to dynamical black holes, where evolving horizons require modified treatments incorporating trapping horizons, Kodama vectors, and dynamical surface gravity. We explored the possible tunneling paths for particles crossing the horizon in dynamical black holes and emphasized the crucial role of the imaginary part of the action in determining the Hawking temperature. In the second part, we review experimental investigations of Hawking radiation, including analogue black hole experiments, quantum simulations, and astrophysical searches for primordial black hole evaporation. While no direct detection of Hawking radiation has been achieved, recent advances in Bose-Einstein condensates, optical analogues, and superconducting qubits offer indirect support for the tunneling interpretation of black hole evaporation.