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A `warp drive' with more reasonable total energy requirements

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arxiv gr-qc/9905084 v5 pith:U5XGJ37L submitted 1999-05-21 gr-qc

classification gr-qc
keywords energytotalwarpalcubierredrivegeometrymassrequirements
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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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Cited by 3 Pith papers

Reviewed papers in the Pith corpus that reference this work. Sorted by Pith novelty score. Full citation record

  1. Steering a warp drive without exotic matter

    gr-qc 2026-06 unverdicted novelty 7.0 of 10

    A positive-energy steerable warp drive is constructed by matching the Kinnersley photon rocket to a flat passenger worldtube, with acceleration controlled by Bondi mass loss obeying a closed-form law.

  2. Radiative Signatures from Warp Drives Traveling Through the Earth's Atmosphere

    gr-qc 2026-08 conditional novelty 6.0 of 10

    A relativistic Alcubierre-type warp bubble entering Earth's atmosphere would trigger a bright shock glow with luminosities from terawatts to exawatts, making such transits detectable.

  3. Warp Drive in a De Sitter Universe

    gr-qc 2025-02 conditional novelty 6.0 of 10

    A warp bubble moving with the Hubble flow in de Sitter space can have non-negative Eulerian energy density and satisfy averaged energy conditions.

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