Nature: 'Quantum tornado' simulates black hole for the first time

This breakthrough in the superfluid helium vortex has become an important link in the field of quantum physics, which is part of an expanding and rapidly growing chain of industries centered on quantum technology. Industries involved include quantum computing, quantum communications, quantum imaging and quantum sensing. Quantum technology is expected to lead a revolution in various fields such as healthcare and finance with its unprecedented computing power, secure communication networks, and highly sensitive measurement devices.

The market outlook for the quantum technology industry is extensive. According to several market analysts, the global quantum computing market is expected to reach billions of dollars over the next decade, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) projected to exceed 20%. Increasing partnerships between the public and private sectors and incentives offered to promote research are expected to boost the market significantly.

Nevertheless, the quantum industry faces a number of challenges. High R&D costs, the need for highly skilled professionals, and technological barriers to creating stable quantum systems are among the potential difficulties for the growth of the industry. In addition, integrating quantum technology with existing infrastructure is also a major challenge.

The field of quantum simulation of black hole environments has become a rapidly growing industry. One of the compelling ideas is that every particle that falls into a black hole may be connected to a particle that remains outside the black hole through quantum entanglement, and that they can share a quantum state even if they are far apart.

One of the key factors that makes quantum computers potentially more powerful than classical computers is entanglement. In the past decade, the connection between black holes and information theory has become much closer. Preskill and other researchers have explored the similarities between the events that occur in holographic projections and the types of algorithms used for error correction in the development of quantum computers. Error correction is a method of storing redundant information that enables a computer (whether classical or quantum) to recover corrupted bits of information. Some researchers believe that the theory of quantum computing may be the key to solving Hawking's paradox. They hypothesize that in creating black holes, the universe may have stored multiple versions of information at the same time: some within the event horizon and some outside of it, so that even if the black hole were to be destroyed, no history would be erased.

However, some researchers have also argued that to fully resolve the information paradox, the unification of gravity and quantum physics may need to be resolved first. Stephen Hawking worked on this problem until his death, but there have been no clear results yet.

So far, astronomers have not observed any evidence of a black hole explosion, but observations continue. The accuracy of maintaining the required low temperatures in superfluid experiments and the challenge of scaling up the experiments to more complex systems bring additional complexity - problems that researchers need to overcome.

So far, previous experiments have used water and sound waves to simulate black holes, but the use of superfluid helium brings the simulation closer to reality. This is because superfluid helium has frictionless properties, which more closely mimics the realistic conditions of simulated space-time and black holes.

Dr. Patrik Svancara of the School of Mathematical Sciences at the University of Nottingham, the first author of the paper, explains, "Using superfluid helium allows us to study tiny surface fluctuations in a much finer and more accurate way. This is a significant improvement over our previous experiments in water. Due to the extremely low viscosity of superfluid helium, we can observe in detail how these fluctuations interact with quantum tornadoes and compare our observations with theoretical predictions."

The team constructed a custom-built cryogenic system that is capable of holding several liters of superfluid helium at temperatures as low as -271°C. The system is capable of holding several liters of superfluid helium at temperatures as low as -271°C. At these temperatures, liquid helium exhibits unusual quantum properties that normally prevent the formation of giant vortices in other quantum fluids, such as ultracold atomic gases or optical quantum fluids, but in this system they make the interface of superfluid helium a stabilizing force.

Dr. Svankara added, "The quantum vortices contained in superfluid helium are tiny structures that are usually separated from each other. In our experiment, we succeeded in confining tens of thousands of quantum vortices to a compact region similar to a small tornado, achieving a vortex strength never before seen in the field of quantum fluids."

The researchers found interesting similarities between these vortices and the gravitational impact of black holes on the surrounding space-time. This finding provides a new way to model finite-temperature quantum field theory in complex curved spacetimes.

Head of the Black Hole Laboratory at the University of Nottingham, Professor Silke Weinfurtner, emphasizes the importance of this work, "Back in 2017, when we first observed clear features of black hole physics in our initial simulation experiments, it was already a groundbreaking moment in understanding a difficult-to-study exotic phenomenon. Now, with even more sophisticated experiments, we have taken this research to the next level, which may ultimately allow us to predict the behavior of quantum fields in curved spacetime around astrophysical black holes."

Overall, this research is not only causing a ripple effect in the field of quantum physics, but it may also serve as a catalyst for technological innovation in numerous fields. The continued exploration of quantum fields in curved spacetime environments provides valuable insight into these innovations.