Horizon in Random Matrix Theory, Hawking Radiation and Flow of Cold Atoms

Abstract

We propose a Gaussian scalar field theory in a curved 2D metric with an event horizon as the low-energy effective theory for a weakly confined, invariant Random Matrix ensemble (RME). The presence of an event horizon naturally generates a bath of Hawking radiation, which introduces a finite temperature in the model in a non-trivial way. A similar mapping with a gravitational analogue model has been constructed for a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) pushed to flow at a velocity higher than its speed of sound, with Hawking radiation as sound waves propagating over the cold atoms. Our work suggests a three-fold connection between a moving BEC system, black-hole physics and unconventional RMEs with possible experimental applications.