Black Holes in the Lab

Black holes are objects in the universe that are so small and heavy that even light can no longer escape their gravity. Although such cosmological black holes have already been observed several times, it is very difficult to study their properties in detail because of their great distance to the Earth. Hence it would be very nice to mimic a black hole in the laboratory and to learn so much more from these wonderful objects. How this can be done with the help of emergence we will discuss in this presentation.

Henk Stoof (1962) studied Applied Physics in Eindhoven. After completing his PhD in Eindhoven, he held postdoctoral positions in the groups of Tony Leggett in Urbana-Champaign and Steve Girvin in Bloomington. He then went to Utrecht where he has been a professor in the theory of condensed matter since 1999. He was awarded a VICI grant for theoretical research on exotic quantum gases, was Distinguished Simons Lecturer in New York and is Fellow of the American Physical Society. Recently he received an NWO Gravitation Grant.