Tel Aviv University Emulated and Observed Black Hole Event Horizons in Groundbreaking Project
Research Expands Understanding of Astrophysical Phenomena
“This approach serves as a testament to the synergy between advanced software tools and innovative scientific research, opening new vistas in the understanding of complex hydrodynamic, robotic control, and astrophysical phenomena.”
Key Outcomes
- MATLAB offered high-level functions for processing and analyzing experimental data, enabling quick hypothesis testing and regression analysis to validate theoretical models
- Coding flexibility with MATLAB and an extensive library, including functions such as the Hilbert transform, facilitated the creation of detailed simulations closely aligned with experimental setups
- Simple syntax and the user-friendly desktop environment in MATLAB allowed users to focus on their research rather than software complexities
- MATLAB toolboxes for control systems and robotics further empowered the team to simulate complex control strategies and test real-time responses under various conditions
Experimental setup for generating surface gravity water waves that act as a proxy for quantum-mechanical equivalents in the study of black holes.
Researchers at Tel Aviv University emulated quantum effects near a black hole within a laboratory setting to explore theoretical physics through experimental observation. Specifically looking to explore the nature of the logarithmic phase singularity made popular by Stephen Hawking, they used the propagation of surface gravity waves in a water tank as a proxy for quantum mechanical waves associated with a black hole.
This approach serves as a testament to the synergy between advanced software tools and innovative scientific research, opening new vistas in the understanding of complex hydrodynamic, robotic control, and astrophysical phenomena. By bridging the fields of mechanical engineering and quantum-inspired methodologies, it highlights the potential for robotic systems and control theory to draw from quantum mechanics, ultimately fostering novel applications and insights at the intersection of these domains. The research team used MATLAB® to test hypotheses, as well as for simulating and analyzing experimental data. MATLAB enabled real-time plotting of theoretical predictions, allowing researchers to swiftly identify and address discrepancies between theory and experimental results, thus enabling dynamic adjustments to parameters and the refining of experimental conditions to align with theoretical models. Using the library of prebuilt functions such as the Hilbert transform from MATLAB helped the team create detailed and realistic simulations that closely matched the experimental setup. Researchers also created custom algorithms using MATLAB, which they then used to simulate and observe the wave dynamics at the event horizon of a black hole.
