Superluminal Travel and General Relativity: The Physics of the Warp Drive

Описание: This video explains the theoretical possibility of superluminal travel via the Alcubierre warp drive, based on the publicly available research thesis. It focuses on what the mathematical data supports regarding the use of fluid matter sources to create a warp bubble and what it does not yet prove for physical implementation.

• Full thesis title: The Warp Drive: Superluminal Travel within General Relativity
• Authors: Osvaldo Luiz dos Santos Pereira
• Institution: Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Physics Institute
• Physics Institute Graduate Program Thesis
• Year: 2025

This research relates to the study of the Alcubierre warp drive metric, general relativity, and astrophysics. It considers alternate phrasing for faster than light travel, such as superluminal motion and warp speeds, achieved through the creation of a warped region in spacetime. The investigation evaluates common public terms like interstellar travel and warp bubbles while focusing on the mathematical use of perfect fluids, anisotropic fluids, and charged dust as gravity sources. The study describes how these solutions connect to shock wave theory and Burgers type equations, suggesting that warp bubbles could behave as gravitational solitons. It examines the historical requirement for negative mass energy density and whether newfound solutions for the Einstein field equations can satisfy classical energy conditions. By using the Arnowitt Deser Misner formalism, the paper investigates the kinematics and dynamics of spacetime foliations to determine if superluminal travel can be achieved without violating global causality.