Membrane Models as a Means of Propulsion in General Relativity: Super-Luminal Warp-Drive that Satisfies the Weak Energy Condition
arXiv:2311.07193 · doi:10.1088/1361-6382/ad4e00
Abstract
Presented are toy-models for sub-luminal and super-luminal warp-drives in 3+1 dimensions. The models are constructed in a chimeric manner - as different bulk space-times separated by thin membranes. The membranes contain perfect-fluid-like stress-energy tensors. The Israel junction conditions relate this stress-energy to a jump in extrinsic curvature across the brane, which in turn manifests as apparent acceleration in the bulk space-times. The acceleration on either side of the brane may be set individually by choice of model parameters. The Weak Energy Condition (WEC) is shown to be satisfied everywhere in both models. Although the branes in these toy models are not compact, it is demonstrated that super-luminal warp-drive is possible that satisfies the WEC. Additionally, the nature of these models provides framework for speculation on a mechanism for transition from sub-luminal to super-luminal warp. Neither quantum effects nor stability of the models is considered.
arXiv comment66 pages, 8 figures, sub-section added that shows the difference in extrinsic curvature across a thin membrane can yield a positive contribution to the Landau-Raychaudhuri equation, thus providing a means to evade some super-luminal warp-drive no-go theorems, at referee request: clarifications added, typo fixed, more symbols defined in initial symbol table
References in corpus (17)
- The warp drive: hyper-fast travel within general relativity
- Warp drive basics
- Hyperfast Interstellar Travel in General Relativity
- Superluminal travel requires negative energies
- Superluminal travel requires negative energies
- The unphysical nature of "Warp Drive"
- A `warp drive' with more reasonable total energy requirements
- Null geodesics in the Alcubierre warp drive spacetime: the view from the bridge
- Warp Drive With Zero Expansion
- Weak energy condition violation and superluminal travel
- Introducing Physical Warp Drives
- Speed Limits in General Relativity
- Energy Conditions and Junction Conditions
- Metamaterial-based model of the Alcubierre warp drive
- Influence of anisotropic matter on the Alcubierre metric and other related metrics: revisiting the problem of negative energy
- Energy condition respecting warp drives: The role of spin in Einstein-Cartan theory
- Exotic Fluids Matching the Stress-Energy Tensor of Alcubierre Warp Drive Spacetimes