We present the first analysis of traversable wormhole solutions within the framework of Einstein-aether theory. We show that the corresponding field equations admit three distinct wormhole geometries, obtained by adopting three different classes of combinations for the aether coupling constants. We examine the null and weak energy conditions for three types of wormhole shape functions. Our findings reveal that, in contrast to Einstein gravity, by choosing appropriate parameter values, wormhole geometries can satisfy the energy conditions at the wormhole throat. We also find that in one class, wormholes can satisfy the energy conditions not only at the wormhole throat but also throughout the entire spacetime. Furthermore, the requirement of energy condition satisfaction, imposes some constraints on the values of aether coupling constants. By comparing these constraints with those previously obtained from theoretical and observational analyses, we find that the satisfaction of energy conditions put more stringent limits on the allowed values of the aether couplings.
Einstein-aether theory admits static traversable zero-tidal-force wormhole solutions whose matter sector satisfies NEC and WEC at the throat for three shape functions in three coupling classes; in Class III (c2 = -c13 ≠ 0, c14 = 0) the energy conditions hold throughout the entire spacetime for -1 < c2 < 0.
That the aether profiles a(r)=d/r^2, e/r^2, and the c2=-c13 form derived in Ref. [57] for EA black holes can be transplanted unchanged into a wormhole geometry (footnote 4, p.6). The wormhole has different global topology and an r>r0 cutoff; regularity of the aether at the throat and asymptotic-flatness consistency are not separately analyzed. If a wormhole-specific aether is needed, the EC regions and the derived coupling bounds could shift.
1/ Wormholes in standard GR need exotic matter that violates the null energy condition. The authors ask if Einstein-aether theory — GR plus a unit timelike vector that breaks Lorentz boosts — can support traversable wormholes with ordinary matter. 2/ They use a zero-tidal-force Morris-Thorne metric, reuse aether profiles found for EA black holes, and pick three coupling simplifications. For three shape functions (power-law, log, tanh) they map where energy density and density+pressure are all positive. 3/ They find parameter windows where NEC/WEC hold at and beyond the throat, and one class where they hold globally. They package this as new bounds on aether couplings. These are existence bounds within an ansatz, not independent observational constraints, and stability is not addressed.
Scientists ask if a special gravity theory could let space-tunnels exist without weird matter, and find some recipes that work.
A mechanical extension of Morris-Thorne analysis to Einstein-aether by reusing aether profiles from the BH analysis of Chan et al. [57]. The procedure: pick zero-tidal-force metric, plug into EA field equations, restrict to three coupling-class simplifications that decouple the system, then scan parameters for shape functions in which ρ, ρ+p_r, ρ+p_t are all positive. The algebra appears internally consistent in displayed form, but the long expressions (3.7)-(6.5) cannot be verified without symbolic recomputation. Concerns: (i) the 'tighter constraints on c_i' come from existence of EC-respecting solutions inside a chosen ansatz family, not from new physics — this is not an independent observational tightening of EA. (ii) No stability/traversability analysis. (iii) The Class III claim that energy conditions hold throughout the entire spacetime is the strongest result but rests on a BH-derived aether profile being valid for wormhole topology, which is asserted in a footnote rather than argued. (iv) The flare-out vs NEC tension is sidestepped by absorbing aether stress into the geometric side, so 'matter satisfies WEC' is framework-dependent. Verdict CONDITIONAL: derivations look plausible and the existence claim is modest, but the coupling 'bounds' are oversold and stability is absent.