A moving medium simulation of Schwarzschild black hole optics

An explicit fluid flow simulation of electromagnetic wave propagation in the gravitational field of a Schwarzschild black hole is given. The fluid has a constant refractive index and a spherically symmetric inward directed flow. The resulting form of the metric leads to a new coordinate system in which the Schwarzschild vacuum is written in Gordon’s form. It is shown that a closely related coordinate system interpolates between the Kerr-Schild and Painleve-Gullstrand coordinates.