Understanding superradiant phenomena with synthetic vector potentials in atomic Bose-Einstein condensates

We theoretically investigate superradiance effects in quantum field theories in curved space-times by proposing an analog model based on Bose-Einstein condensates subject to a synthetic vector potential. The breaking of the irrotationality constraint of superfluids allows us to study superradiance in simple planar geometries and obtain intuitive insight into the amplified scattering processes at ergosurfaces. When boundary conditions are modified to allow for reflections, dynamical instabilities are found, similar to the ones of ergoregions in rotating space-times. Their stabilization by horizons in black hole geometries is discussed. All these phenomena are reinterpreted through an exact mapping with the physics of one-dimensional relativistic charged scalar fields in electrostatic potentials. Our study provides a deeper understanding of the basic mechanisms of superradiance: By disentangling the different ingredients at play, it shines light on some misconceptions on the role of dissipation and horizons and on the competition between superradiant scattering and instabilities.