From Here to Eternity and Back: Are Traversable Wormholes Possible?
Mary Margaret McEachern with advising from Dr. Russell L. Herman Phys. 495 Spring 2009 April 24, 2009 Dedicated in Memory of My Dear Friend and UNCW Alumnus Karen E. Gross (April 11, 1982~Jan. 4, 2009) Do Physicists Care, and Why?
Are wormholes possible? How can we model to prove or disprove? Wormholes are being taken seriously Possible uses? Interstellar travel Time travel Outline History Models that fail Desirable traits General relativity primer Morris-Thorne wormhole Curvature Stress energy tensor Boundary conditions and embeddings Geodesics Examples Time machines and future research What is a Wormhole?
“Hypothetical shortcut between distant points”
General relativity Historical Perspective
Albert Einstein – general relativity ~ 1916
Karl Schwarzschild – first exact solution to field equations ~ 1916 Unique spherically symmetric vacuum solution
Ludwig Flamm ~ 1916 White hole solution Historical Perspective
Einstein and Nathan Rosen ~ 1935 “Einstein-Rosen Bridge” – first mathematical proof
Kurt Gödel ~ 1948 Time tunnels possible?
John Archibald Wheeler ~ 1950’s Coined term, “wormhole”
Michael Morris and Kip Thorne ~ 1988 “Most promising” – wormholes as tools to teach general relativity Traversable Wormholes?
Matter travels from one mouth to other through throat Never observed BUT proven valid solution to field equations of general relativity Black Holes Not the Answer
Tidal forces too strong Horizons One-way membranes Time slows to stop “Schwarzschild wormholes” Fail for same reasons Simple Models – Geometric Traits
Everywhere obeys Einstein’s field equations Spherically symmetric, static metric “Throat” connecting asymptotically flat spacetime regions No event horizon Two-way travel Finite crossing time Simple Models – Physical Traits
Small tidal forces Reasonable crossing time Reasonable stress- energy tensor Stable Assembly possible A Little General Relativity Primer
G 8 GT 1 G R Rg 2 Field equations – relate spacetime curvature to matter and energy distribution Left side – Curvature Right side – Stress energy tensor Summation indices More on General Relativity
“Space acts on matter, telling it how to move. In turn, matter reacts back on space, telling it how to curve.” ~ Misner, Thorne, Wheeler, Gravitation Spacetimes
“A spacetime is a four-dimensional manifold equipped with a Lorentzian metric…[of signature]…(-,+,+,+). A spacetime is often referred to as having (3+1) dimensions.” ~Matt Visser, Lorentzian Wormholes. Representing Spacetimes: Flat
“Line Element” 2 Uses differentials ds g dx dx Einstein summation Metric Minkowski space:
2 2 2 2 2 ds gtt dt gxx dx g yy dy gzz dz
gtt 1; gxx 1; g yy 1; gzz 1 (cartesian) 2 2 2 gtt 1; grr 1; g r ; g r sin (spherical) Morris-Thorne Wormhole (1988)
1 ds2 e2 dt 2 dr 2 r 2 (d 2 sin2 d 2 ) b 1 r
Φ(r) – redshift function Change in frequency of electromagnetic radiation in gravitational field
b(r) – shape function +∞
Properties of the Metric
1 ds2 e2 dt 2 dr 2 r 2 (d 2 sin2 d 2 ) b 1 r -∞
Spherically symmetric and static Radial coordinate r such that circumference of circle centered around throat given by 2πr
r decreases from +∞ to b=b0 (minimum radius) at throat, then increases from b0 to +∞ At throat exists coordinate singularity where r component diverges Proper radial distance l(r) runs from - ∞ to +∞ and vice versa Morris-Thorne Metric
1 ds2 e2 dt 2 dr 2 r 2 (d 2 sin2 d 2 ) b 1 r
e2 0 0 0 gtt 0 0 0 1 b 0 g 0 0 0 1 0 0 rr g r 0 0 g 0 2 0 0 r 0 0 0 0 g 2 2 0 0 0 r sin G 8 GT Determining Curvature (Left Side)
Do we have the desired shape? Cartan’s Structure Equations
“Cartan I”
i i j d j
“Cartan II” i i i k j d j k j
Elie Joseph Cartan (1869~1951) Cartan I – Connection One-Forms
“One-forms” dx, dy, dz pdx qdy rdz i j j i
, Take from Morris-Thorne metric: 0 e dt 1 2 2 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 b 2 ds e dt dr r (d sin d ) 1 1 dr b 1 r r 2 rd 3 r sind Operations with Forms
“Wedge product” dt dt dr dr d d d d 0 dt dr dr dt
“d” Operator: k-form to (k+1)-form 1 form da da a a(t,r) da dt dr dt dr Combining:
da da da a(t,r)dt d dt dt dr dt dr dt dt dr dr Calculation – Connection One-Forms
1 ds2 e2 dt 2 dr 2 r 2 (d 2 sin2 d 2 ) b 1 r 1 0 e dt d 0 e dt dr; dt 0 e 1 1 b 2 b 2 1 1 dr d1 0; dr 1 1 r r 1 2 rd d 2 dr d; d 2 r 1 3 r sind d 3 sindr d r cosd d; d 3 r sin Calculation – Connection One-Forms
i i j d j i, j t,r,,
0 0 1 0 2 0 3 d 1 2 3 e dt dr 1 b 2 0 1 e dt dr 0 1 e 1 dt 1 1 1 r 1 2 0 b e 1 dt 1 r 1 b 2 1 e 1 dt 0 r Matrix of One-Forms
1 b 2 0 e 1 dt 0 0 r 1 1 1 2 2 2 b b b e 1 dt 0 1 d sin 1 d i r r r j 1 b 2 0 1 d 0 cosd r 1 b 2 0 sin1 d cosd 0 r Calculation – Curvature Two-Forms
i i i k j d j k j i, j,k,m,n t,r,, 1 Ri m n 2 mnj Computed using matrix of one-forms Non-zero components of Riemann tensor Useful for computing geodesics Calculation – Curvature Two-Forms
2 2 2 0 2 1 2 3 d3 0 3 1 3 3 cosd 2 0 0 b d 2 sind d 0 3 sin d d 3 r 1 b 1 1 2 3 b 2 sin 2 r r r sin 1 1 d r b 2 3 1 r 3 2 1 b 3 sin1 d b R R 3 r r 1 2 b d R R r r 3 1 d 3 r sin Riemann Tensor Components
b 2 br b Rt Rr Rr Rr 1 rtr ttr ttr trt r 2r 2 br b Rr R Rr R r rr r rr 2r 3 r r br b Rr Rrr Rr Rrr 3 b 2r 1 r R t R R t R t tt t tt r b 1 t t r R t Rtt Rt Rtt b r R R R R r 3 Riemann Tensor Properties
Rtr Rrt Rtr Rtr
Antisymmetric in (t, r) Antisymmetric in (θ,Φ) Symmetric in (t, r) and (θ, Φ) Only 24 independent components Generally in 4D has 256 components Governs difference in acceleration of two freely falling particles near each other 1 G R Rg 2 Ricci Curvature Tensor
t r Rtt Rttt Rtrt Rtt Rtt b 21 b 2 br b r 1 r 2r 2 r
t r Rrr Rrtr Rrrr Rrr Rrr
b 2 br b br b 1 r 2r 2 r 3 1 G R Rg 2 Ricci Curvature Tensor
t r R Rt Rr R R b 1 r br b b R r 2r 3 r 3
t r R Rt Rr R R b 1 r br b b R r 2r 3 r 3 1 G R Rg 2 Curvature Scalar
R Rtt Rrr R R b 41 b 2 br b r 2br b 2b 21 r r 2 r r 3 r 3 1 G R Rg 2 Einstein Tensor
Einstein Tensor G Gtt ,Grr ,G ,G
“Ricci” Curvature Tensor R Rtt , Rrr , R , R
Curvature Scalar R Rtt Rrr R R
Metric g gtt , grr , g , g 1 G R Rg 2 Einstein Tensor – Components
1 b G R Rg tt tt 2 tt r 2 1 b 2 b G R Rg 1 rr rr 2 rr r 3 r r
1 b br b 2 br b G R Rg 1 2 G 2 r 2r(r b) r 2r (r b)
1 b br b 2 br b G R Rg 1 2 G 2 r 2r(r b) r 2r (r b) G 8 GT Stress-Energy Tensor
0 0 0 0 0 0 T 0 0 p 0 0 0 0 p Equations of State
Rearrange, solve….
b Energy density 8r 2
1 b Tension 2(r b) 8r 2 r
r Pressure (stress) p ( ) 2 Wormhole Embedding Diagram
2 r r z(r) b ln 1, b 2 0 b b 0 0 0 Static (t=constant “slice”) Assume θ=π/2 (equatorial “slice”) Only r,Ф variable
1 b ds2 1 dr 2 r 2d 2 r ds2 dz 2 dr 2 r 2d 2 Boundary Conditions - Shape
b0 – minimum radius at throat Vertical at throat Asymptotically flat
r-axis Boundary Conditions – No Horizon
Horizon - “physically nonsingular surface at which g tt vanishes”; defined only for spacetimes containing one or more asymptotically flat regions
e.g. Schwarzschild metric – coordinate singularity at r=2M 1 2M 2M ds2 1 dt 2 1 dr 2 r 2 d 2 sin2 d2 r r Morris-Thorne metric
2 2 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 ds e dt dr r (d sin d ) 2 b e 0 1 r Other Boundary Conditions
Crossing time on order of 1 year Acceleration and tidal acceleration on order of 1G Geodesics
“Geodesics” are “extremal proper time worldlines”; equations of motion that determine geodesics comprise the “geodesic equation” ~ Hartle Timelike – Particle freefall paths; ds2 0 Null – Light freefall paths; ds2 0
LOCALLY Variational Principle
1 ds2 e2 dt 2 dr 2 r 2 (d 2 sin2 d 2 ) b 1 r Lagrangian
1 2 1 2 2 2 dx dx dt b dr d d 2 L g e2 1 r 2 sin2 d d d r d d d Euler-Lagrange Equation 1 d L L AB Ld 0 geodesics d dx x 0 d Geodesic Equation
2 1 d x dx dx g g , g , g , ; 2 d 2 d d ,, , t,r,, d dt t e2 0 d d
1 1 2 2 2 2 d b dr d b dr d d dt r 1 1 r sin2 e2 0 d r d dr r d d d d 2 d d d r 2 r 2 sin cos 0 d d d d d r 2 sin2 0 d d Christoffel Symbols
Describe curvature in non-Euclidean space Metric is like first derivative of warp Christoffel symbol is like second derivative of warp Also called “connection coefficients”
Non-zero Christoffel symbols are components of a 3-tensor
t t d 1 r 2 rt tr (r b)sin dr r r r 1 r sin cos b r r r r r br b cos r b 2 1 e rr tt 2r(r b) sin r Morris-Thorne Examples
Zero tidal forces
Exotic matter limited to throat “Absurdly benign” wormhole Zero Tidal Force Solution
0
b b(r) bor r for b0 1
Equations of State
5 b 16r 2 8r 2 5 1 b 2(r b) 8r 2 8r 2 r 5 r p ( ) 2r 2 2 Zero Tidal Force Solution
Wormhole material extends from throat to proper radial distance +/- ∞
Density, tension and pressure vanish asymptotically
Material is everywhere exotic i.e., 0 everywhere Violates energy conditions Need quantum field theory “Catenoid” Exotic Matter Limited to Throat
2 (r b0 ) b b0 1 ; 0 for b0 r b0 a0 a0 b 0 for r b0 a0
Spacetime flat at r > b0 + a0 Tidal forces bearable Absurdly Benign Wormhole Travel time reasonable BUT throat radius must be large to have meaningful wormhole Backward Time Travel
From H.G. Wells, The Time Machine
Time machine – Any object or system that permits one to travel to the past Not proven possible or impossible Traveler moves through wormhole at sub-light speed Appears to have exceeded light speed to stationary observers Causality violations and paradoxes (consistency and bootstrap) Summary
Theoretically reasonable Morris-Thorne model No horizons Exotic matter Energy condition violations Causality violation Much work has been done and continues to be done in this area; models abound! Possible Questions for Future
Is necessary topological change even permitted? Exotic matter required? If so, is it allowed on the quantum level? If so, can we enlarge to classical size? Morris and Thorne: “…pulling a wormhole out of the quantum foam…” THANK YOU!
Karen E. Gross (1982~2009) UNCW Class of 2005 (Mathematics) References (Books and Papers)
Jaroslaw Pawel Adamiak, Static and Dynamic Traversable Wormholes (Univ. of South Africa, January 2005) James B. Hartle, Gravity -- An Introduction to Einstein's General Relativity (Addison-Wesley 2003) David C. Kay, Schaum’s Outline of Theory and Problems of Tensor Calculus (McGraw-Hill Professional 1988) Charles W. Misner, Kip S. Thorne, John Archibald Wheeler, Gravitation (W.H. Freeman and Company 1973) Michael S. Morris and Kip S. Thorne, Wormholes in Spacetime and Their Use for Interstellar Travel: A Tool for Teaching General Relativity (Calif. Inst. of Technology, 17 July 1987) Thomas A. Roman, Inflating Lorentzian Wormholes (Cent. Conn. St. Univ. 1992) Matt Visser, Lorentzian Wormholes: From Einstein to Hawking (Amer. Inst. of Physics 1995) References (Websites)
http://mathworld.wolfram.com/RiemannTensor.html (April 17, 2009) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89lie_Cartan (April 10, 2009) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exterior_algebra (April 12, 2009) http://www-gap.dcs.st- and.ac.uk/~history/Biographies/Cartan.html (March 26, 2009) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wormhole (January 17, 2009) References (Figures)
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9d/Time_travel_hypothesis_using_ wormholes.jpg/360px-Time_travel_hypothesis_using_wormholes.jpg (April 15, 2009) http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&um=1&q=tidal+forces+images&sa=N&start=20&nds p=20 (April 12, 2009) http://www.one-mind-one-energy.com/images/Wormhole.jpg (February 22, 2009) http://www.scifistation.com/masterpiece2.html (March 5, 2009) http://www.familycourtchronicles.com/philosophy/wormhole/wormhole-enterprise.jpg (April 2, 2009) http://www.nysun.com/pics/6255.jpg (March 18, 2009) http://www.zamandayolculuk.com/cetinbal/VZ/WormholeTimeTravels.jpg (January 31, 2009) http://www.jedihaven.com/assets/downloads/wallpapers/ds9_wormhole.jpg (February 3, 2009) http://www.zamandayolculuk.com/cetinbal/astronomyweeklyfacts.htm (April 5, 2009) http://www.popsci.com/files/imagecache/article_image_large/files/articles/sci1005timeMach_4 85.jpg (April 1, 2009) http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1332/1171648505_7971058af5.jpg?v=1207757450 (March 9, 2009) http://zebu.uoregon.edu/1996/ph123/images/antflash.gif (January 19, 2009) http://cse.ssl.berkeley.edu/bmendez/ay10/2002/notes/pics/bt2lfS314_a.jpg (February 12, 2009) References (Figures, cont’d.)
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Vlvi-- zU3NM/RzhJQ4gEThI/AAAAAAAAAE0/Wl8cadtTWho/s320/babyinhand2.jpg&imgre furl=http://goodschats.blogspot.com/2007/11/10-brilliant-christmas-gifts- for.html&usg=__XGt- WxoBX1f1W9MwYX6IwqdLCBs=&h=304&w=320&sz=22&hl=en&start=96&um=1 &tbnid=FVbFR8x2QU9cKM:&tbnh=112&tbnw=118&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dfour %2Bdimensional%2Bmanifold%2Bimage%26ndsp%3D20%26hl%3Den%26sa%3 DN%26start%3D80%26um%3D1 (April 14, 2009) http://www.math.hmc.edu/~gu/curves_and_surfaces/surfaces/catenoid.html (April 15, 2009)