On the existence of steady-state black hole analogues in finite quasi-one-dimensional Bose-Einstein condensates

Abstract

We theoretically propose a finite-size quasi-one-dimensional Bose-Einstein condensate with coherent source and drain placed at its two ends, which can in principle sustain a stationary sonic black hole with a single event horizon. Our analysis is focused on the condensate persistence against quantum fluctuations. We show that similar to white hole-black hole pairs, dynamical instabilities occur. Investigating in detail the instabilities' dependence on the system parameters, we also identify windows of formally infinite black hole lifetimes. By using quantum depletion of the condensate as a diagnostic tool, we validate the usage of Bogoliubov theory to describe the analogue Hawking process, and establish novel signatures of Hawking radiation in the depleted cloud, both inside and outside the event horizon.