Superradiant droplet emission from a single hydrodynamic cavity near a reflective boundary

Abstract

Recent advances in manipulating droplet emissions from a thin vibrating fluid using submerged cavities, have introduced an innovative platform for generating hydrodynamic analogs of quantum and optical systems. This platform unlocks unique features not found in traditional pilot-wave hydrodynamics, inviting further exploration across varied physical settings to fully unravel its potential and limitations as a quantum analog. In this study, we explore how the recently reported phenomenon of hydrodynamic superradiance is affected when a single hydrodynamic cavity is taken to interact with a submerged reflective barrier. Our experimental findings reveal that the presence of a barrier near a cavity enhances its droplet emission rate, emulating the effect of a second cavity positioned at twice the distance. Moreover, the system exhibits a sinusoidal modulation of the emission rate as a function of the distance between the cavity and its mirror image, echoing the characteristic superradiance signature observed in optical systems. These findings broaden our understanding of wave-particle duality in hydrodynamic quantum analogs and suggest new pathways for replicating quantum behaviors in macroscopic systems.