Quantum simulation of vacuum amplification in a modulated cavity

The optical cavity is ubiquitous in modern technology as the central element in lasers, spectrometers, clocks, and sensors. Simply moving the mirrors of such a cavity back and forth can give rise to surprisingly rich phenomena, which have resisted direct experimental realization due to the difficulty of relativistically accelerating massive cavity mirrors. These phenomena range from the semiclassical Floquet map that predicts effective horizon-like worldlines and exponentially concentrated energy density to quantized driven vacuum modes that give rise to the dynamical Casimir effect and map to black-hole evaporation and Unruh radiation. We describe an experimental platform that uses a matter-wave cavity with a high degree of flexibility to probe such phenomena, and outline future possibilities for its use.