Spontaneous Hawking radiation in Bose–Einstein condensate experiments

Determine whether the radiation observed in Bose–Einstein condensate waterfall configurations constitutes spontaneous Hawking radiation arising from quantum vacuum fluctuations, or whether it is produced by classical noise sources.

Background

Sam Patrick describes analogue gravity experiments targeting the Hawking effect using flowing Bose–Einstein condensates. While features consistent with Hawking radiation have been reported, the interpretation of the observed signals remains contested.

Clarifying whether the detected emission is genuinely spontaneous Hawking radiation versus classical or stimulated effects is crucial for validating analogue gravity as a robust probe of quantum field theory in curved spacetime.