Related papers: The light speed barrier: Bending the rules

Arguments are reviewed and extended in favor of presenting special relativity at least in part from a more mechanistic point of view. A number of generic mechanisms are catalogued and illustrated with the goal of making relativistic effects…

According to the theory of ether light propagates with constant speed c with respect to the absolute reference frame and with respect to any other reference frame the speed of light is covariant. According to the theory of special…

Photons propagating in curved spacetime may, depending on their direction and polarisation, have velocities exceeding the ``speed of light'' c. This phenomenon arises through vacuum polarisation in QED and is a tidal gravitational effect…

In an isotropic and homogeneous Hubble expansion, all transverse motion is peculiar. Like the radial peculiar velocities of galaxies, transverse peculiar velocities are a means to trace the density of matter that does not rely on light…

Double Special Relativity theories are the relativistic theories in which the transformations between inertial observers are characterized by two observer-independent scales of the light speed and the Planck length. We study two main…

A mechanism is found that explains how matter falling into the future event horizon of a black hole leaves information there, which it sends to the past event horizon, and there it determines how particles are emitted. This way information…

Naively applying Hubble's law to a sufficiently distant object gives a receding velocity larger than the speed of light. By discussing a very similar situation in special relativity, we argue that Hubble's law is meaningful only for nearby…

Vectorial analysis relating to derivation of deflection of light is presented. Curvilinear acceleration is distinguished from the Newtonian polar conic acceleration. The difference between the two is due to the curvature term. Lorentz…

Hawking's black hole information puzzle highlights the incompatibility between our present understanding of gravity and quantum physics. However, Hawking's prediction of black-hole evaporation is at a semiclassical level. One therefore…

Secrecy in communication systems is measured herein by the distortion that an adversary incurs. The transmitter and receiver share secret key, which they use to encrypt communication and ensure distortion at an adversary. A model is…

The interaction of light with objects and media moving at relativistic and superluminal speeds enables unconventional phenomena such as Fresnel drag, Hawking radiation, and light amplification. Synthetic motion, facilitated by modulated…

The hypothesis of a discrete fabric of the universe--the "Planck scale"--is always on stage, since it solves mathematical and conceptual problems in the infinitely small. However, it clashes with special relativity, which is designed for…

Refraction at the interface between two materials is fundamental to the interaction of light with photonic devices and to the propagation of light through the atmosphere at large. Underpinning the traditional rules for the refraction of an…

Scalar Bessel beams are derived both via the wave equation and via diffraction theory. While such beams have a group velocity that exceeds the speed of light, this is a manifestation of the "scissors paradox" of special relativty. The…

We consider various mechanisms of modifying the effect of intrinsic curvature in gravity with respect to general relativity. Two primary approaches are studied. First, by considering a Lagrange multiplier or an auxiliary field. Second, by…

In diffraction catastrophes such as the rainbow the wave nature of light resolves ray singularities and draws delicate interference patterns. In quantum catastrophes such as the black hole the quantum nature of light resolves wave…

A underlying dynamical structure for both relativity and quantum theory-``superrelativity'' has been proposed in order to overcome the well known incompatibility between these theories. The relationship between curvature of spacetime…

We discuss some properties of Lorentz invariant theories which allow for superluminal motion. We show that, if signals are always sent forward in time, closed curves along which signals propagate can be formed. This leads to problems with…

We develop a perturbation theory for surfaces confining photons and massive particles in static spherically symmetric spacetimes in terms of two parameters: the mass-to-energy ratio and the deviation of metric functions from a given form,…

We study non-relativistic propagation of Gaussian wave packets in one-dimensional Eckart potential, a barrier, or a well. In the picture used, the transmitted wave packet results from interference between the copies of the freely…