A `warp drive' with more reasonable total energy requirements
Open accessAbstract
I show how a minor modification of the Alcubierre geometry can dramatically improve the total energy requirements for a `warp bubble' that can be used to transport macroscopic objects. A spacetime is presented for which the total negative mass needed is of the order of a few solar masses, accompanied by a comparable amount of positive energy. This puts the warp drive in the mass scale of large traversable wormholes. The new geometry satisfies the quantum inequality concerning WEC violations and has the same advantages as the original Alcubierre spacetime.
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The Broeck configuration reduces total energy requirements from universal-scale to solar mass-scale.
“This drastically reduces the total energy requirements from universal-scale to solar mass-scale.”
From Positive energy warp drive from hidden geometric structures (2021) · cites this paper as [12]
The first warp drive solutions by Alcubierre and Van Den Broeck enabled passengers to move at arbitrary speeds but required enormous energy density and unphysical stress-energy tensors using negative energy.
“The first warp drive solutions developed by Alcubierre [1] and then further developed by Van Den Broeck [16] enabled passengers inside the warp bubble to move at arbitrary speeds but at the cost of both enormous energy density and unphysical stress-energy tensors using negative energy.”
From Analyzing warp drive spacetimes with warp factory (2024) · cites this paper as [16]
Proposed warp drive solutions have been unphysical, requiring energy condition violations and large energy requirements.
“So far the proposed solutions have been unphysical, requiring energy condition violations and large energy requirements.”
From Analyzing warp drive spacetimes with warp factory (2024) · cites this paper as [16]
The Van Den Broeck metric violates energy conditions, similar to Alcubierre, but with rings and a non-violating region where positive energy exists.
“Similarly, Figure 9 demonstrates that this metric also violates energy conditions, similar to Alcubierre, but with rings and a non-violating region where the positive energy exists.”
From Analyzing warp drive spacetimes with warp factory (2024) · cites this paper as [16]
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References 11 · Cited by 99
- Authors
- Broeck, C. V. D.
- Affiliations
- KU Leuven (BE)
- Corresponding author
- Broeck, Chris Van Den
- Venue
- Classical and Quantum Gravity
- Publisher
- IOP Publishing
- Published
- 1999-11-10
- Volume
- 16
- Issue
- 12
- Pages
- 3973-3979
- ISSN
- 0264-9381 (ISSN-L)
- 1361-6382
- OpenAlex
- W2093785929
- Semantic Scholar
- 45fb2112d4833b2237dc533298d5f2a1e36225f9
- Cited by
- 99
- References
- 11
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 12 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 1 · 2015: 1 · 2013: 4 · 2012: 5
- FWCI
- 1.91
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Classical and Quantum Gravity (publishedVersion)
- arXiv (Cornell University) (submittedVersion)
- arXiv (Cornell University)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Cosmology and Gravitation Theories
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Relativity and Gravitational Theory
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Nuclear and High Energy Physics › Black Holes and Theoretical Physics
- Keywords
- warp drive, Alcubierre metric, warp bubble, negative mass, energy requirements, traversable wormholes, quantum inequalities, weak energy condition violation, spacetime geometry, superluminal travel
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