An Optical Analog of a Black Holes

Abstract

Using media with extremely low group velocities one can create an optical analog of a curved space-time. Leonhardt and Piwnicki have proposed that a vortex flow will act as an optical black hole. We show that although the Leonhardt - Piwnicki flow has an orbit of no return and an infinite red-shift surface, it is not a true black hole since it lacks a null hypersurface. However a radial flow will produce a true optical black hole that has a Hawking temperature and obeys the first law of black hole mechanics. By combining the Leonhardt - Piwnicki flow with a radial flow we obtain the analog of the Kerr black hole.