Analog de Sitter space in a controlled Coulomb explosion

Abstract

The Coulomb explosion of an atomic gas steered by laser-controlled time-dependent charging can be modeled by a macroscopic system of identical charges whose number is not conserved. We show that such a system can evolve in the spatially homogeneous and isotropic fashion that mimics accelerating cosmic expansions. Specifically, for a constant rate of charge production, the resulting Friedmann-Coulomb equations have a stable fixed point corresponding to an analog of de Sitter space.