Artificial spacetime experiment could show tantalizing effects of gravitational waves

Although the curves and ripples of spacetime are suspected to be full of intriguing secrets about the history of the universe, they are also extremely difficult to study. For this reason, some physicists are turning to the lab to attempt to recreate spacetime geometries where they can be more easily analyzed.

In a new paper published in the New Journal of Physics, Niclas Westerberg, et al., from institutions in the UK and Italy have proposed a new way to construct artificial spacetime in the lab.

By illuminating a very thin film (such as graphene) with an ultrashort and intense laser pulse, the scientists show that it may be possible to model the periodic expansion and contraction of cosmological spacetime. They explain that this type of medium can be likened to a gravitational wave, a ripple in the fabric of spacetime. Further, the scientists predict through calculations that these gravitational waves may amplify electromagnetic radiation, producing large numbers of photons that can potentially be detected.