Objective "The interaction of light with matter is traditionally studied in media that are either still or moving at a negligible fraction of the speed of light. In this regime standard text-book results apply. However, if the medium or, more generally speaking, certain parameters that distinguish the medium such as the refractive index are made to change or move close to the speed of light then new and unexpected scenarios emerge. For example, if the medium refractive index is not moving but is made to oscillate at high, e.g. optical frequencies, then a parametric interaction occurs with an incident light beam amplified transformed into a new pair of light beams. If closed within cavity mirrors, amplification by the oscillating medium is enhanced and even vacuum photons are be excited in correlated pairs in a process analogous to the dynamical Casimir effect. We will also consider the opposite regime in which the refractive index profile does not oscillate but is made to move forwards close to, or even faster than the speed of light. Again we encounter surprising effects: light propagating in such a moving medium finds an elegant description in terms of a space-time metric in which space is flowing in much the same way in which water flows in a river or in which space flows in a gravitational field. Under appropriate conditions the analogy can be extended to black holes and the analogue of an event horizon for light is formed by the perturbation. Light is frequency shifted at the horizon and is also amplified: the horizon acts as a parametric amplifier. The perturbations required for these and other related effects described in the proposal will be experimentally obtained using intense laser pulses and nonlinear optics and thus open a fascinating new area of laser physics." Fields of science natural sciencesphysical sciencesastronomyastrophysicsblack holesnatural sciencesphysical sciencesopticsnonlinear opticsnatural sciencesphysical sciencesopticslaser physicsnatural sciencesphysical sciencestheoretical physicsparticle physicsphotons Programme(s) FP7-IDEAS-ERC - Specific programme: "Ideas" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013) Topic(s) ERC-SG-PE2 - ERC Starting Grant - Fundamental constituents of matter Call for proposal ERC-2012-StG_20111012 See other projects for this call Funding Scheme ERC-SG - ERC Starting Grant Coordinator HERIOT-WATT UNIVERSITY Address Riccarton EH14 4AS Edinburgh United Kingdom See on map Region Scotland Eastern Scotland Edinburgh Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Principal investigator Daniele Faccio (Dr.) Administrative Contact Eva Olszewska-Day (Dr.) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window EU contribution No data Beneficiaries (1) Sort alphabetically Sort by EU Contribution Expand all Collapse all HERIOT-WATT UNIVERSITY United Kingdom EU contribution € 1 556 579,80 Address Riccarton EH14 4AS Edinburgh See on map Region Scotland Eastern Scotland Edinburgh Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Principal investigator Daniele Faccio (Dr.) Administrative Contact Eva Olszewska-Day (Dr.) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Other funding No data
