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Matter-Wave Fabry-Pérot Cavity in the Ultrastrong Driving Regime

Jeremy L. Tanlimco1, Eber Nolasco-Martinez1,*, Xiao Chai1,*, S. Nicole Halawani1,*, Eric Zhu1,*, Ivar Martin2, and David M. Weld1,†

  • *These authors contributed equally to this work.
  • †Contact author: weld@ucsb.edu
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Phys. Rev. Lett. 137, 193404 – Published 4 November, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/44mq-jfp1

Abstract

When the length of an optical cavity is modulated, theory predicts exponential concentration of energy around particular space-time trajectories. Viewed stroboscopically, photons in such a driven cavity propagate as if in a curved spacetime, with black hole and white hole event horizons corresponding to unstable and stable fixed points of the evolution. Such phenomena have resisted direct experimental realization due to the challenges associated with achieving effective near-relativistic accelerations of massive cavity mirrors. We report results of an experiment that overcomes this limitation by exchanging the roles of light and matter. A matter wave endowed with quasirelativistic dispersion is confined between two barriers made of light, one of which is periodically translated at speeds comparable to the matter wave group velocity. In this strongly modulated cavity we observe the emergence of the predicted bright and dark fixed point trajectories, and we furthermore demonstrate that changing the modulation waveform can vary the number of fixed points and exchange their stability character. We observe signatures of nontrivial dynamics beyond those predicted for photons and attribute them to residual curvature in the dispersion relation. In addition to experimentally realizing and characterizing cavity dynamics in the ultrastrong driving regime, these results point the way to implementations of related dynamics in electro-optic materials, with potential applications in pulse generation and signal compression.

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Atomic Wave Simulates Black Hole Properties

Published 4 November, 2026

Using sheets of light to corral waves of ultracold atoms, researchers have created an experimental platform for studying the event horizons of black holes.

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Outline

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Phys. Rev. Lett. 137, 193404– Published 4 November, 2026
  • Received 28 January 2026
  • Revised 21 May 2026
  • Accepted 2 September 2026
Article part of CHORUS
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