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Mimicking black hole event horizons in atomic and solid-state systems

Nature Reviews Materials volume 3, pages 491–501 (2018)Cite this article

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Abstract

Holographic quantum matter exhibits an intriguing connection between quantum black holes and more conventional (albeit strongly interacting) quantum many-body systems. This connection is manifested in the study of their thermodynamics, statistical mechanics and many-body quantum chaos. In this Review, we discuss these connections, focusing on the most promising example of holographic quantum systems to date – the family of Sachdev–Ye–Kitaev (SYK) models. The SYK models are simple quantum mechanical models that have the potential to holographically realize quantum black holes. We examine various proposals for the experimental realizations of SYK models, including ultracold gases, graphene flakes, semiconductor quantum wires and 3D topological insulators. These approaches offer the exciting prospect of accessing black hole physics and thus addressing many important questions regarding quantum gravity in the laboratory.

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Fig. 1: Schematic representation of holographic duality.
Fig. 2: The Sachdev–Ye–Kitaev model.
Fig. 3: The complex Sachdev–Ye–Kitaev model realized for cold atoms.
Fig. 4: Schematic representation of a graphene device.
Fig. 5: The Sachdev–Ye–Kitaev model with quantum wires.
Fig. 6: Realization of the Sachdev–Ye–Kitaev model in the Fu–Kane superconductor.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are indebted to many colleagues who helped shape their understanding of the subject. Of these, special thanks go to I. Affleck, E. Altman, J. Alicea, L. Balents, M. Berkooz, A. Chen, F. Haehl, A. Kitaev, C. Li, E. Lantagne-Hurtubise, P. Narayan, D. Pikulin, S. Sachdev, J. Simon and M. Tezuka.

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  1. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Marcel Franz & Moshe Rozali

  2. Quantum Matter Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Marcel Franz

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Correspondence to Marcel Franz.

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Franz, M., Rozali, M. Mimicking black hole event horizons in atomic and solid-state systems. Nat Rev Mater 3, 491–501 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41578-018-0058-z

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