Analytical theory of Hawking radiation in dispersive media

Abstract

Hawking's 1974 prediction that black holes radiate and evaporate has been hinting at a hidden connection between general relativity, quantum mechanics and thermodynamics. Recently, laboratory analogues of the event horizon have reached the level where tests of Hawking's idea are possible. In this paper we show how to go beyond Hawking's theory in such laboratory analogues in a way that is experimentally testable.