物理學(xué)家勾勒出一個雄心勃勃的計(jì)劃，用全息圖來模擬黑洞

物理學(xué)家勾勒出一個雄心勃勃的計(jì)劃，用全息圖來模擬黑洞

Black holes are some of the most powerful and fascinating phenomena in our Universe, but due to their tendency to swallow up anything nearby, getting up close to them for some detailed analysis isn't possible right now.

黑洞是我們宇宙中最強(qiáng)大和最迷人的現(xiàn)象之一，但由于它們有吞沒附近任何東西的傾向，現(xiàn)在還不可能靠近它們進(jìn)行詳細(xì)的分析。

Instead, scientists have put forward a proposal for how we might be able to model these massive, complex objects in the lab - using holograms.

相反，科學(xué)家們提出了一個建議，即我們?nèi)绾卧趯?shí)驗(yàn)室中利用全息圖來模擬這些巨大而復(fù)雜的物體。

While experiments haven't yet been carried out, the researchers have put forward a theoretical framework for a black hole hologram that would allow us to test some of the more mysterious and elusive properties of black holes - specifically what happens to the laws of physics beyond its event horizon.

雖然實(shí)驗(yàn)還沒有進(jìn)行，研究人員已經(jīng)提出了黑洞全息圖的理論框架，這將使我們能夠測試黑洞的一些更神秘和更難以捉摸的特性——特別是在它的視界之外的物理定律發(fā)生了什么。

One of the ultimate goals would be to help us reconcile the two theories of general relativity (large-scale physics) and quantum mechanics (small-scale physics), which are both fundamentally important to science and yet aren't in full agreement about how the Universe works.

最終目標(biāo)之一將是幫助我們調(diào)和廣義相對論(大尺度物理學(xué))和量子力學(xué)(小尺度物理學(xué))這兩種理論，這兩種理論對科學(xué)都具有根本性的重要意義，但它們對宇宙如何運(yùn)行還沒有完全達(dá)成一致。

A standout issue is the fact quantum mechanics can't explain gravity - but both gravity and quantum mechanics are needed to explain black holes. Specifically, black holes emit a strong gravitational pull. But to explain exactly what happens beyond the event horizon, scientists need to use some very strange quantum physics.

一個突出的問題是量子力學(xué)不能解釋引力，但是引力和量子力學(xué)都需要解釋黑洞。具體來說，黑洞釋放出強(qiáng)大的引力。但是為了準(zhǔn)確解釋在視界之外發(fā)生的事情，科學(xué)家需要使用一些非常奇怪的量子物理學(xué)。

It's for this reason, physicists are eagerly searching for ways to merge the two in a potential 'theory of everything' referred to as quantum gravity.

正因如此，物理學(xué)家們正急切地尋找將這兩種理論融合到一個潛在的“萬物理論”(theory of everything)中去的方法，這個理論被稱為量子引力(quantum gravity)。

"The holographic image of a simulated black hole, if observed by this tabletop experiment, may serve as an entrance to the world of quantum gravity," says physicist Koji Hashimoto, from Osaka University in Japan.

日本大阪大學(xué)的物理學(xué)家橋本(Koji Hashimoto)說：“如果通過這個桌面實(shí)驗(yàn)觀察到模擬黑洞的全息圖像，可能會成為量子引力世界的入口。”

Key to the new idea of a black hole hologram is string theory: the idea that the elementary particles that make up the Universe, such as quarks and leptons, are made up of one-dimensional strings that vibrate at different frequencies.

黑洞全息圖新概念的關(guān)鍵是弦理論：組成宇宙的基本粒子，如夸克和輕子，是由以不同頻率振動的一維弦組成的。

One version of string theory is known as holographic duality, and it basically suggests that whatever happens inside that 'string theory' space can also be translated onto a simpler 'space' with fewer dimensions, such as an event horizon boundary.

弦理論的一個版本被稱為全息二象性，它基本上表明，無論在那個“弦理論”空間內(nèi)發(fā)生什么，也可以被轉(zhuǎn)換成一個更簡單、維度更少的“空間”，比如視界邊界。

This ties into one idea that black holes are nothing but holograms in the first place: two-dimensional surfaces that get projected into three dimensions (just like a normal hologram is).

這與黑洞一開始就是全息圖的觀點(diǎn)相聯(lián)系:二維的表面被投射成三維(就像普通的全息圖一樣)。

If this was the case, it would solve some (but not all) of the tension between general relativity and quantum mechanics, because it would mean that everything that falls into a black hole doesn't actually go in anywhere but remains packed on its circular surface. No need to go into the messy 'beyond the event horizon' details.

如果是這樣的話，它將解決廣義相對論和量子力學(xué)之間的部分(但不是全部)張力，因?yàn)檫@意味著落入黑洞的所有物體實(shí)際上并沒有進(jìn)入任何地方，而是仍然被包裹在其圓形表面上。沒有必要進(jìn)入混亂的“事件視界之外”的細(xì)節(jié)。

And that's where holograms come into it. According to the researchers: a two-dimensional sphere could model a three-dimensional black hole, with light emitted at one point and measured at another in order to 'see' what's happening.

這就是全息圖的作用。據(jù)研究人員稱:一個二維球體可以模擬一個三維黑洞，光在一個點(diǎn)發(fā)射，在另一個點(diǎn)測量，以便“看到”正在發(fā)生什么。

What you would be left with, assuming the right materials and lab conditions are used, is an Einstein ring – the deformation of light that can happen around a black hole due to its strong gravitational pull, as predicted by the theory of general relativity. This is known as gravitational lensing.

假設(shè)使用了合適的材料和實(shí)驗(yàn)室條件，你將得到的是一個愛因斯坦環(huán)——根據(jù)廣義相對論的預(yù)測，黑洞周圍可能發(fā)生的光變形是由于它的強(qiáng)大引力。這就是所謂的引力透鏡效應(yīng)。

This deformed ring of light is actually what we saw when the first ever picture of a black hole was published. As you can see, the images resulting from the calculations of this new research, shown up at the top of the page, look somewhat similar.

這個變形的光圈實(shí)際上是我們在第一張黑洞照片發(fā)表時看到的。如您所見，這項(xiàng)新研究的計(jì)算結(jié)果顯示在頁面頂部的圖像看起來有些相似。

(EHT Collaboration)

Unfortunately, as this is still a theoretical framework requiring a super-specific lab setup, you're not going to be able to project a black hole on your kitchen table just yet. The researchers are now hoping to find quantum material that will allow them to test their theory.

不幸的是，由于這仍然是一個理論框架，需要一個超特定的實(shí)驗(yàn)室設(shè)置，所以您還不能在廚房桌子上投射出一個黑洞。研究人員現(xiàn)在希望能找到量子材料來測試他們的理論。

However, if we could perform the experiment, it just might help scientists match up our large-scale and small-scale understandings of the way the Universe works.

然而，如果我們能進(jìn)行這個實(shí)驗(yàn)，它可能會幫助科學(xué)家們匹配我們對宇宙運(yùn)行方式的大尺度和小尺度的理解。

"Our hope is that this project shows the way forward towards a better understanding of how our Universe truly operates on a fundamental level," says physicist Keiju Murata, from Nihon University in Japan.

日本日本大學(xué)的物理學(xué)家Keiju Murata說:“我們的希望是，這個項(xiàng)目為更好地理解我們的宇宙在基本層面上是如何真正運(yùn)行的，指明了前進(jìn)的道路。”

The research has been published in Physical Review Letters.

這項(xiàng)研究發(fā)表在《物理評論快報(bào)》上。