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Torres Vicente, Theo (2019) Hydrodynamic simulations of rotating black holes. PhD thesis, University of Nottingham.

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Abstract

Wave scattering phenomena are ubiquitous in almost all Sciences, from Biology to Physics. Interestingly, it has been shown many times that different physical systems are the stage to the same processes. The discoveries of such analogies have resulted in a better understanding of Physics and are indications of the universality of Nature. One stunning example is the observation that waves propagating on a flowing fluid effectively experience the presence of a curved space-time.

In this thesis we will use this analogy to investigate, both theoretically and experimentally, fundamental effects occurring around vortex flows and rotating black holes. In particular, we will focus on light-bending, superradiance scattering, and quasi-normal modes emission. The experimental nature of this work will lead us to study these processes in the presence of dispersive effects.

After a general and historical discussion of the field of analogue gravity, we will first present a well-established technique, the gradient expansion method, to obtain approximate solutions of dynamical equations. This method will be used to generalise the notion of light-rings around black holes to vortex flows. Secondly, we will present a wave-vortex scattering experiment in which the superradiance process was observed. Finally, we will relate the properties of the light-rings to the characteristic modes emitted during the relaxation phase of a perturbed vortex flow. We will show that these characteristic modes can be used to develop a flow measurement technique that we call ‘Analogue Black Hole Spectroscopy’. We will then report on an experiment in which these characteristic modes were observed and the analogue black hole spectroscopy technique was applied successfully.

Our results strengthen the link between vortices and rotating black holes and open up new challenges to be addressed in the future.

Item Type:	Thesis (University of Nottingham only) (PhD)
Supervisors:	Weinfurtner, Silke Scase, Matthew
Keywords:	Analogue gravity, vortices, black holes, experiments, waves-current interaction, gravity waves, superradiance, light-rings, quasi-normal modes
Subjects:	Q Science > QB Astronomy
Faculties/Schools:	UK Campuses > Faculty of Science > School of Mathematical Sciences
Item ID:	59426
Depositing User:	Torres Vicente, Théo
Date Deposited:	08 Apr 2020 13:20
Last Modified:	06 May 2020 09:02
URI:	https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/id/eprint/59426

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