Physicists from Germany are examining the theoretical possibility of the existence of tunnels in space-time, but only particles can pass through them, and they will immediately close
Wormholes play a key role in many science fiction films - often as a shortcut between two distant points in space. In physics, however, these space-time tunnels remain purely hypothetical. An international team led by Dr. Jose Luis Balzquez-Salcedo of the University of Oldenburg has now presented a new theoretical model in the scientific journal Physical Review Letters that makes microscopic wormholes seem less far-fetched than previous theories.
Wormholes, like black holes, appear in the equations of Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity, published in 1916. The axiom of Einstein's theory is that the universe has four dimensions - three spatial dimensions and time as the fourth dimension. Together they create what is known as "space-time". According to the theory, space-time can be stretched and stopped by massive objects like stars, like a rubber sheet bending when a ball below sinks into it. The curvature of space-time determines how objects such as spaceships and planets, but also light, move within it.
"In theory, spacetime can be bent and curved even without massive objects," says Balzaquez-Salcedo, who has since moved to Complutense University in Madrid, Spain. In this scenario, a wormhole would be a highly curved region of spacetime resembling two interconnected funnels connecting two distant points in space, like a tunnel. "From a mathematical point of view, such a shortcut would be possible, but no one has ever observed a real wormhole," explains the physicist.
An unstable wormhole
Furthermore, such a wormhole would be unstable. If, for example, a spaceship flies into such a hole, it will immediately collapse into a black hole. The connection the black worm provided to other places in the universe will be severed. Previous models suggest that the only way to keep the wormhole open is through an exotic form of matter that has negative mass, or in other words weighs less than nothing, and only exists in theory.
However, Blazquez-Salcedo and his colleagues Dr. Christian Knoll from the University of Oldenburg and Eugen Rado from the University of Aveiro in Portugal demonstrate in their model that wormholes can also be exposed without the need for this.
The researchers chose a relatively simple "semi-classical" approach. They combined elements of relativity with elements of quantum theory and classical electrodynamics. In their model they see certain elementary particles like electrons and their electrical charge as matter passing through the wormhole. As a mathematical description they chose the Dirac equation, a formula that describes the probability density function of a particle according to quantum theory and relativity as a so-called Dirac field.
As the physicists report in their study, it is the inclusion of the Dirac field in their model that enables the existence of a traversable wormhole in matter, provided that the ratio between the electric charge and the mass of the wormhole exceeds a certain limit. In addition to matter, signals - for example electromagnetic waves - can cross the tiny time tunnels. These microscopic wormholes probably wouldn't be suitable for interstellar travel. Furthermore, the model will need to be refined to find out whether such unusual structures can actually exist. "We think that wormholes can also exist in a complete model," says Balzaquez-Salcedo.
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A possible use of such a wormhole could be for communication at a speed higher than the speed of light.
"Wormholes, like black holes, appear in the equations of Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity" - not true.
"Wormholes, like black holes, appear *as possible solutions of* the equations of Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity" - true.