Related papers: Progress in revolutionary propulsion physics
This MSc thesis is divided in to two parts. The first, covers the foundations of theories of gravitation, and, the second incorporates original work on the subject of the existence of traversable wormholes in $f(R)$ modified theories of…
Ten short years ago, we had the rare privilege of witnessing the onset of a renaissance in science: humanity finally succeeded in its arduous quest to directly detect gravitational waves. This breakthrough did not occur in a vacuum: it was…
We critically examine proposals for the so-called warp-drive spacetimes and classify these models based on their various restrictions within the framework of General Relativity. We then provide a summary of general formalism for each class,…
Gravitational radiation is an elusive form of radiation predicted by general relativity, it is the subject of intense theoretical and experimental research at the limit of the sensitivity of today's instrumentation. In spite of the fact…
Knowing the distance of an astrophysical object is key to understanding it. However, at present, comparisons of theory and observations are hampered by precision (or lack thereof) in distance measurements or estimates. Putting the many…
Wormhole solutions in classical General Relativity are unstable and hence non traversable. Morris and Thorne discovered a traversable wormhole solution that required the energy momentum tensor of matter sources to violate various energy…
The warp drive envisioned by Alcubierre that can move a spaceship faster than light can, with modification, levitate it as if it were lighter than light, even allow it to go below a black hole's horizon and return unscathed. Wormhole-like…
Despite originating in science fiction, warp drives have a concrete description in general relativity, with Alcubierre first proposing a spacetime metric that supported faster-than-light travel. Whilst there are numerous practical barriers…
Wormholes are non-trivial topological structures that arise as exact solutions to Einstein's field equations, theoretically connecting distinct regions of spacetime via a throat-like geometry. While static traversable wormholes necessarily…
Over the last three years, a number of fundamental physical issues were addressed in loop quantum gravity. These include: A statistical mechanical derivation of the horizon entropy, encompassing astrophysically interesting black holes as…
Laboratory experiments provide a valuable complement to explore the fundamental physics of space plasmas without the limitations inherent to spacecraft measurements. Specifically, experiments overcome the restriction that spacecraft…
An overview is given of the current status of the theory and observations of the acceleration of the expansion of the observable part of the Universe. Contents 1. Historical Introduction 2. Friedmann equations and cosmological acceleration…
While wormholes are just as good a prediction of Einstein's theory as black holes, they are subject to severe restrictions from quantum field theory. To allow for the possibility of interstellar travel, a macroscopic wormhole would need to…
Wormholes are hypothetical topologically-non-trivial structures of the spacetime. From the theoretical point of view, the possibility of their existence is challenging but cannot be ruled out. This article is a compact and non-exhaustive…
In 1994, Miguel Alcubierre proposed that the well-known special relativistic limitation that particles cannot travel with velocities higher than light speed can be bypassed when such trips are considered globally within specific general…
The major advances in physics have been through counterintuitive breakthroughs-- ideas that seemed to go against prevailing convictions. In the twentieth century the Special and General Theory of Relativity and Quantum Mechanics have…
The question of whether it is possible or not to surpass the speed of light is already centennial. The special theory of relativity took the existence of a speed limit as a principle, the light postulate, which has proven to be enormously…
The accelerating expansion of the universe presents an exciting, fundamental challenge to the standard models of particle physics and cosmology. I highlight some of the outstanding challenges in both developing theoretical models and…
It has been a half-decade since the first direct detection of gravitational waves, which signifies the coming of the era of the gravitational-wave astronomy and gravitational-wave cosmology. The increasing number of the detected…
It is generally agreed that the acceleration of the Universe can best be explained by the presence of dark or phantom energy. The equation of state of the latter shows that the null energy condition is violated. Such a violation is the…