Break the chain barrier for faster-than-light travel

If it is possible to travel to distant stars during an individual’s lifetime, it will be necessary to find a means of propulsion faster than light. To date, even recent research on superluminal (faster than light) transport based on Einstein’s general theory of relativity would require large amounts of hypothetical particles and states of matter that have physical properties. “ exotic ” such as negative energy density. This type of material cannot currently be found or cannot be manufactured in viable quantities. In contrast, new research at the University of Göttingen is getting around this problem by building a new class of hyper-fast “solitons” using sources with only positive energies that can allow travel at any speed. This reignites the debate on the possibility of traveling faster than light based on conventional physics. The research is published in the journal Classical and quantum gravity.

The author of the article, Dr Erik Lentz, analyzed the existing research and discovered gaps in previous studies on “warp drive”. Lentz noted that there were still configurations to be explored of space-time curvatures organized into “solitons” that have the potential to solve the puzzle while being physically viable. A soliton – in this context also referred to informally as a “warp bubble” – is a compact wave that maintains its shape and travels at a constant speed. Lentz derived Einstein’s equations for unexplored soliton configurations (where the shift vector components of the space-time metric obey a hyperbolic relationship), finding that altered space-time geometries could be formed in a way that even worked with conventional energy sources. Essentially, the new method uses the very structure of space and time arranged in soliton to provide a solution to faster-than-light travel, which, unlike other research, would only need sources with positive energy densities. No exotic negative energy density needed.

If enough energy could be generated, the equations used in this research would allow space travel to Proxima Centauri, our closest star, and return to Earth in years instead of decades or millennia. This means that a person can travel and return during their lifetime. In comparison, current rocket technology would take more than 50,000 years for a one-way ticket. Additionally, the solitons (warp bubbles) have been configured to contain a region with minimal tidal forces so that the passage of time inside the soliton matches the time outside: an ideal environment for a vessel. spatial. This means that there wouldn’t be the complications of the so-called “ twin paradox ” that one twin traveling near the speed of light ages much slower than the other twin who stayed on Earth: in fact, according to recent equations, the two twins would be the same age when reunited.

“This work has moved the problem of faster-than-light travel away from theoretical research in fundamental physics and engineering. The next step is to figure out how to reduce the astronomical amount of energy required by today’s technologies, such as a large modern fission nuclear power plant. Then we can talk about building the first prototypes, ”explains Lentz.

Currently, the amount of energy required for this new type of space propulsion is still immense. Lentz explains, “The energy required for this light-speed drive encompassing a 100-meter-radius spacecraft is in the order of hundreds of times the mass of the planet Jupiter. Energy savings are expected to be drastic, around 30 orders of magnitude to be within the reach of modern nuclear fission reactors. He goes on to say, “Fortunately, several energy saving mechanisms have been proposed in previous research that can potentially reduce the energy required by nearly 60 orders of magnitude.” Lentz is currently in the early stages to determine whether these methods can be changed or whether new mechanisms are needed to reduce the energy required to what is currently possible.