Abstract: We study acoustic white holes in a steadily flowing atomic Bose-Einstein condensate. A white hole configuration is obtained when the flow velocity goes from a super-sonic value in the upstream region to a sub-sonic one in the downstream region. The scattering of phonon wavepackets on a white hole horizon is numerically studied in terms of the Gross-Pitaevskii equation of mean-field theory: dynamical stability of the acoustic white hole is found, as well as a signature of a nonlinear back-action of the incident phonon wavepacket onto the horizon. The correlation pattern of density fluctuations is numerically studied by means of the truncated-Wigner method, which includes quantum fluctuations. Signatures of the white hole radiation of correlated phonon pairs by the horizon are characterized; analogies and differences with Hawking radiation from acoustic black holes are discussed. In particular, a short wavelength feature is identified in the density correlation function, whose amplitude steadily grows in time since the formation of the horizon. The numerical observations are quantitatively interpreted by means of an analytical Bogoliubov theory of quantum fluctuations for a white hole configuration within the step-like horizon approximation.

Abstract: We consider an auxiliary fields formulation for the general fourth-order gravity on an arbitrary curved background. The case of a Ricci-flat background is elaborated in detail and it is shown that there is an equivalence with the standard metric formulation. At the same time, using auxiliary fields helps to make perturbations to look simpler and the results clearer. As an application we reconsider the linear perturbations for the classical Schwarzschild solution. We also briefly discuss the relation to the effect of massive unphysical ghosts in the theory.

Abstract: We report observations made on a run of transcritical flows over an obstacle in a narrow channel. Downstream from the obstacle, the flows decelerate from supercritical to subcritical, typically with an undulation on the subcritical side (known in hydrodynamics as an undular hydraulic jump). In the Analogue Gravity context, this transition corresponds to a white-hole horizon. Free-surface deformations are analyzed, mainly via the two-point correlation function which shows the presence of a checkerboard pattern in the vicinity of the undulation. In nongated flows where the white-hole horizon occurs far downstream from the obstacle, this checkerboard pattern is shown to be due to low-frequency fluctuations associated with slow longitudinal movement of the undulation. Tt can thus be considered as an artifact due to a time-varying background. In gated flows, however, the undulation is typically “attached” to the obstacle, and the fluctuations associated with its movement are strongly suppressed. In this case, the observed correlation pattern is likely due to a stochastic ensemble of surface waves, scattering on a background that is essentially stationary.

Abstract: We present a detailed analytical analysis of the propagation of Bogoliubov phonons on top of Bose-Einstein condensates with spatial and temporal steplike discontinuities in the speed of sound in the hydrodynamic limit. We focus on some features in the correlations patterns, in particular, of density-density correlations. The application to the study of the Hawking signal in the formation of acoustic black hole-like configurations is also discussed.

Abstract: Inspired by a recent experiment by Steinhauer and co-workers, we present a simple model which describes the formation of an acoustic black hole in a Bose-Einstein condensate, allowing an analytical computation of the evolution in time of the corresponding density-density correlator. We show the emergence of analog Hawking radiation out of a “quantum atmosphere” region significantly displaced from the horizon. This is quantitatively studied both at T = 0 and even in the presence of an initial temperature T, as is always the case experimentally.