Warp Drives and Superluminal Travel Causal Structure The Renormalized Stress-Energy Tensor Summary

Superluminal Warp Drives are Semiclassical Unstable

Stefano Finazzi1
1 Sissa

Stefano Liberati1

Carlos Barcel2

and INFN sezione di Trieste de Astrofsica de Andaluca

2 Instituto

July 17, 2009

Phys. Rev. D 79, 124017 (2009)

Stefano Finazzi, Stefano Liberati, Carlos Barcel Superluminal Warp Drives are Semiclassical Unstable

Warp Drives and Superluminal Travel Causal Structure The Renormalized Stress-Energy Tensor Summary

Is it possible to travel faster than light?

A bubble of spacetime can move at arbitrary speed: ds2 = c 2 dt 2 + [dx v(r )dt]2 , ds2 = c 2 dt 2 + [dr v (r )dt]2 ,
-4 -2 -0.5 -1 -1.5 -2

r = x v(0) t . v (r ) = v(r ) v(0) .

2 4

Theoretical problems in realizing spacetime shortcuts Enormous amount of exotic matter: |E | M . Localized Violation of energy conditions (Quantum Inequalities): 102 LP .
Stefano Finazzi, Stefano Liberati, Carlos Barcel Superluminal Warp Drives are Semiclassical Unstable

Warp Drives and Superluminal Travel Causal Structure The Renormalized Stress-Energy Tensor Summary

Is it possible to travel faster than light?

A bubble of spacetime can move at arbitrary speed: ds2 = c 2 dt 2 + [dx v(r )dt]2 , ds2 = c 2 dt 2 + [dr v (r )dt]2 ,
-4 -2 -0.5 -1 -1.5 -2

r = x v(0) t . v (r ) = v(r ) v(0) .

2 4

Theoretical problems in realizing spacetime shortcuts Enormous amount of exotic matter: |E | M . Localized Violation of energy conditions (Quantum Inequalities): 102 LP .
Stefano Finazzi, Stefano Liberati, Carlos Barcel Superluminal Warp Drives are Semiclassical Unstable

Warp Drives and Superluminal Travel Causal Structure The Renormalized Stress-Energy Tensor Summary

Dynamical Warp Drive

i+

IL

,r

White Horizon: H2 Black Horizon: H1+

+ + Cauchy Horizons: HC , HR
+ ,r HC
+

= (t

+ ,r

(t =

i0 L

r=

ns co

1 +

= (t
t= con

=
st

) r2

r = con st

r= r1

HR

onst

r=c

Stefano Finazzi, Stefano Liberati, Carlos Barcel

(t =

,r

Superluminal Warp Drives are Semiclassical Unstable

IL

= (t

= (t ,r = )
r = r2

+ ,r = ) r2
i0 R

Warp Drives and Superluminal Travel Causal Structure The Renormalized Stress-Energy Tensor Summary

Light Propagation
Past and Future null coordinates U, u: dr , t , c dr du = dt , t + . c + v (r ) dU = dt U eu , = v r .
r =r1
r t

Hawking radiation from the black horizon TH = . 2

Stefano Finazzi, Stefano Liberati, Carlos Barcel Superluminal Warp Drives are Semiclassical Unstable

Warp Drives and Superluminal Travel Causal Structure The Renormalized Stress-Energy Tensor Summary

The RSET in 1+1 Dimensions

The metric can always be written as ds2 = C(U, W )dUdW . r r , W = lim t + U = lim t t t c c

Expected value of the RSET on a state seen to be vacuum by an inertial observer at t = TUU = TWW TUW 1 1/2 2 1/2 C U C , 12 1 1/2 2 1/2 C W C , = 12 1 = TWU = CR . 96
Superluminal Warp Drives are Semiclassical Unstable

Stefano Finazzi, Stefano Liberati, Carlos Barcel

Warp Drives and Superluminal Travel Causal Structure The Renormalized Stress-Energy Tensor Summary

The Energy Density in the Warp-Drive Bubble

We calculate the energy density measured by a free-falling observer with u (1, v ). = T u u = st + dynu + dynw , 1 24 v4 v2 + 2 1 2 v2 2v v 1 v2

st

v 2 +

dynu dynw

f (u) 1 , 48 (1 + v )2 1 g(w) . 48 (1 v )2
Superluminal Warp Drives are Semiclassical Unstable

Stefano Finazzi, Stefano Liberati, Carlos Barcel

Warp Drives and Superluminal Travel Causal Structure The Renormalized Stress-Energy Tensor Summary

The Energy Density in the Warp-Drive Bubble

i+

IL

,r

Center of the bubble

= )

= (t

+ ,r

(t =

i0 L

r=

ns co

(r = 0) = dynu
,r = ) r2

2 2 = T 48 12 H

HC

1 +

= (t +
t= con st

TH
,r = ) r2
i0 R

with QI 102 TP

without QI 0.003 K

r = con st

r= r1

HR

onst

r=c

Stefano Finazzi, Stefano Liberati, Carlos Barcel

(t =

,r

Superluminal Warp Drives are Semiclassical Unstable

IL

= (t

= (t ,r = )
r = r2

Warp Drives and Superluminal Travel Causal Structure The Renormalized Stress-Energy Tensor Summary

The Energy Density in the Warp-Drive Bubble

i+

IL

,r

Black and White Horizons

=

= (t

+ ,r

(t =

i0 L

r=

ns co

(r = r1,2 ) e2t
HC
+

1 +

= (t + ,r
con t=

=
st

r = con st

= 1/2
+ ,r = ) r2

with QI 102 tP

without QI 3 109 s

) r2

r= r1

HR

onst

r=c

Stefano Finazzi, Stefano Liberati, Carlos Barcel

(t =

,r

Superluminal Warp Drives are Semiclassical Unstable

IL

= (t

= (t ,r = )
r = r2

i0 R

Warp Drives and Superluminal Travel Causal Structure The Renormalized Stress-Energy Tensor Summary

The Energy Density in the Warp-Drive Bubble

i+

IL

,r

Cauchy Horizon
=

= (t

+ ,r

(t =

i0 L

r=

ns co

(u = const) e+2t
HC
+

1 +

= (t + ,r
con t=

=
st

r = con st

= 1/2
+ ,r = ) r2

with QI 102 tP

without QI 3 109 s

) r2

r= r1

HR

onst

r=c

Stefano Finazzi, Stefano Liberati, Carlos Barcel

(t =

,r

Superluminal Warp Drives are Semiclassical Unstable

IL

= (t

= (t ,r = )
r = r2

i0 R

Warp Drives and Superluminal Travel Causal Structure The Renormalized Stress-Energy Tensor Summary

Summary

Extremely high temperature inside the bubble Instability: Accumulation of energy on the white horizon and on the Cauchy horizon If |v | < c no horizons, no Hawking radiation, no instability.

Stefano Finazzi, Stefano Liberati, Carlos Barcel

Superluminal Warp Drives are Semiclassical Unstable

Warp Drives and Superluminal Travel Causal Structure The Renormalized Stress-Energy Tensor Summary

Summary

Extremely high temperature inside the bubble Instability: Accumulation of energy on the white horizon and on the Cauchy horizon If |v | < c no horizons, no Hawking radiation, no instability.

Stefano Finazzi, Stefano Liberati, Carlos Barcel

Superluminal Warp Drives are Semiclassical Unstable