Thermodynamics of effective Minkowski spacetime in self-assembled hyperbolic metamaterials

Abstract: Recent developments in gravitation theory indicate that the classic general relativity is an effective macroscopic theory which will be eventually replaced with a more fundamental theory based on thermodynamics of yet unknown microscopic degrees of freedom. Here we consider thermodynamics of an effective Minkowski spacetime which may be formed under the influence of external magnetic field in a cobalt ferrofluid. It appears that the extraordinary photons propagating inside the ferrofluid perceive thermal gradients in the ferrofluid as an effective gravitational field, which obeys the Newton law. Moreover, the effective Minkowski spacetime behaviour near the metric signature transition may mimic various cosmological Big Bang scenarios, which may be visualized directly using an optical microscope. Thus, some important features of the hypothetic microscopic theory of gravity are reproduced in the ferrofluid-based analogue model.