Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
time_
F. Loupy R. Heldz D. Waitex E. Halerewicz, Jr.{ M. Stabnok M. Kuntzman__
R. Simsyy
January 28, 2002 Originally appeared in arXiv: gr-qc/0202021
Abstract
The authors will demonstrate, that while horizons do not exist for warp drive space-times traveling
at sub-light velocities, horizons begin to develop when a warp drive space-time reaches light speed
velocities. They will show that the control region of a warp driven ship lie within the portion of the warped
region that is still causally connected to the ship, even at faster than light velocities. This allows a ship to
slow to sub-light velocities. Furthermore, the warped regions, which are causally disconnected from a warp
ship, have no correlation to the ship’s velocity.
1 Introduction
One of the many objections against warp drives is the appearance of horizons, when a
ship travels at faster than light velocities (see figure 2). The problem is to control the speed of the
ship at speeds greater than light. If the bubble becomes causally disconnected from the ship,
then observers in the ships frame cannot control the bubble, and the ship cannot reduce its
velocity. In this work, we will show, that while part of the warped region becomes causally
disconnected from the ship at faster than light speeds, the behavior of that part does not depend
on the ship’s speed and can be engineered while the ship is still sub-light. Also, the control region
of the ship's velocity remains in the portion of the warped region that is still casually connected to
the ship (see figure 3).
2 Two-dimensional warp drive
In order to examine the warp field control problem, we start with the two dimensional
ESAA metric [1] written in the Alcubierre formalism:
where
?
dx = dx+ vsdt and vs =dxs/cdt (2)
Substituting in S into equation 2:
1 - f(rs) = S(rs): (3)
the line element is:
ds2 = A2 dt2 — (v 2 2 2
sS(rs)) dt -vsS(rs)dxdt-dx (4)
This is the two-dimensional ESAA space-time required to discuss the ‘horizon problem’.
2.1 Two-dimensional ESAA Hiscock metric:
In order to continue, we will proceed in a similar manner as did Hiscock [2]. The ESAA-
Hiscock ship frame metric can be written from:
ds2 = -H(rs)dT2 +A2 (rs)dx2 H(rs) (5)
The prime on x from now on is implicit.
Define dT as:
dT = dt -vsS(rs)H(rs)dx (6)
Inserting equation 8 into 7 and defining H as the horizon function:
H(rs) = A2 -(vsS(rs))2 ( 7)
The corresponding line element becomes
(11)
The ESAA ship frame Piecewise function S(rs)=1-f(rs) is:
S(rs) = 0 rs < R-(delta/2)
S(rs) = = ? -(R-rs )/delta R-(delta/2)<rs <R + (delta/2)
S(rs) = 1 rs >R + (delta/2)
(12)
The ESAA-Hiscock horizon (7) is:
H(rs) = 1 rs < R-(delta/2)
To more easily discuss the effects of v and A on H, we will define three regions which
corresponding to the three ranges that rs takes.
2 2 2 4
T 00 = vs /32Pi (sigma /2 rs) /A (15 )
If vs < 1, the three regions are causally connected to both the ship and remote frame. However if
vs = 1 the horizon appears for the remote frame. This region (1) while connected to the ship frame
becomes causally disconnected from the remote frame. if vs > 1, then somewhere in region 2, a
horizon appears which is causally disconnected from the remote frame while connected to the
ship frame, and vice versa.
If we utilize the top hat function (15) for the warped region R _ (_=2) _ rs _ R + (_=2) then
one has
I(rs) = A2 - (v (1/2+(R-rs)/delta)2 ( 19 )
Providing a large A2 > vsf(rs)2, then I(rs) > 0 and this region will be causally connected to
the remote frame. The remote frame can detect part of the Pfenning warped region. If the ship
changes its speed, then the remote frame will observe the changing speed.
Thus, a signal sent by the ship can go up to rs = R + (delta/2) and a signal sent by remote
observer can go inward tot rs = R -(delta2). Therefore part of the region between R -(delta/2) < rs
<R + (delta/2) is connected to the ship and remote frame. The ship can change the ship speed
because this region is connected to the ship, and the remote frame detects the speed being
changed because this region is connected to the remote frame.
So the outer part of the warp bubble seize to exist when the speed is changed. Although
the ship cannot communicate with the outer parts of the warp bubble and the remote observer
cannot communicate with the inner part of the warp bubble, the warp bubble overlapping region
should remains stable..
Figure 1: Faster than light Warp Drive with control maintained with inner and outer warp shells
defined by A =
(1 + tanh[sigma(rs -R)]^2)/2, which simulates figure 3. Graphed with the following parameters vs =
1, _sigma= 2, and
R = 1.8, delta= 0.1.
6 Conclusions:
In this work, the authors have demonstrated how the lapse function, A, defined as a
Pfenning-Piecewise function, can resolve the faster than light control problem of the warp drive. A
is assumed not to change its behavior when the ship passes from sub-light to faster than light,
although we do not provide a source for the nature of A. This will investigated in a future work.
Acknowledgements:
The Authors of this work would like to express the most profound and sincere gratitude to Miguel
Alcubierre for his time and patience during all the phases of development of this work.
References
[1] F.Loup, D.Waite, and E.Halerewicz, Jr. Reduced total energy requirements for a modi_ed
Alcubierre warp drive
space-time gr-qc/0107097.
[2] W.Hiscock. Quantum e_ects in the alcubierre warp drive space-time. Class. Quantum Grav.,
14: L183{88, 1997.
gr-qc/9707024
[3] M.Pfenning. Quantum inequality restrictions on negative energy densities in curved space-
times. gr-qc/9805037
Figure 2: Luminal horizon formation. The red region represents where a horizon will form once a
warp drive
Space-time [1] reaches luminial velocities.
8
Figure 3: Faster than light warp bubble frame regions. The blue region is the remote frame
horizon, the yellow region is the Pfenning region, and the red region is the ship frame horizon.