Research suggests that physicists are increasingly confident in the possibility of faster-than-light travel.

New research shows that the “superluminal observer” needs three separate time dimensions for a warp-speed math trick that would please even Galileo.

Superluminal observers idea provided by Andrzej Dragan’s team considers how it would be possible to apply FTL movement between relativity and quantum mechanics. Thus this research reconstructs the current human understanding of the universe by proposing that there are three dimensions of time in addition to the one dimensional space. Superposition and indeterminism can be looked at anew from the viewpoint of a superluminal observer as time and space reverse themselves.

This theoretical framework indicates that the laws of physics are unaltered at the superluminal speed to formulate a unified field theory integrating these two major fields of physics. This means that perhaps the understanding of the dimensions need to be expanded beyond the three dimensions of time and one of space. Despite the often difficult calculations, the actual concepts used could be easily understandable by anyone. A single math discovery at superspeeds could indeed upset prevailing assumptions.

An important component of this concept is a “superluminal observer”, described in a paper published in December 2022 in the journal Classical & Quantum Gravity. The term ‘superluminal’ means any object that travels with a speed greater than light. Picture yourself in a Star Trek warp-speed shuttle, exploring the universe at such a breakneck pace. Superluminal observers are intriguing because they bridge two seemingly distinct realms of physics: General Relativity and Quantum mechanics.

General relativity, formulated by Einstein, explains the dynamics of entities in spacetime at speeds below the speed of light, and quantum mechanics deals with the mechanics of particles at the quantum level.

In the paper called Relativistic quantum theory of superluminal observer written by the research team led by the theoretical physicist Andrzej Dragan from the University of Warsaw and the National University of Singapore researchers proposed that superluminal observer may explain many basic quantum effects including indeterminism and superposition using principles of general relativity. In other words, what happens to spacetime when we ramp up the speed to unimaginable levels by the shuttles ? Does every thing begin to appear at two or three places at the same time?

The above narrative is at least possible judging by the recent work of Dragan. Far more excitingly, translating general relativity into quantum events at space velocities beyond the light doesn’t appear to create causality problems. In the piece published in the New Journal of Physics in March 2020, Dragan and his coauthor concentrated on a model which has only one spatial dimension and one temporal dimension (1+1). Their latest paper generalises this to one space dimension and three time dimensions, or 1+3.

When Time and Space Flip Math

That would require explanation as to why three time dimensions are necessary. For a better appreciation of this, one has to look at Mathematics in great detail. As we presumed time and space are completely different but according to relativity both are relatively similar provided that mathematician’s minus sign is used as Dragan. These minutes can make a world of a difference: as is evidenced by the case of when a sign alteration is made to an algebraic equation in order to propagate its simplification.

But when the observer is moving with a velocity greater than that of light then there is the sign difference also because here time and space interchange their position. In this case, what was the time for the superluminal observer becomes space for the subluminal observer and vice versa thus there has to be corresponding change of sign.

In a 1+1 model where there is but one time and one space dimension this flip makes the two dimensions useless. To distinguish space from time, we need to introduce additional dimensions: One set of patterns is formulated to represent space while the other is formulated to represent time.

The Symmetry in Physics

There’s another fascinating aspect to this research: That is why Dragan’s team works on proving that in conditions of approaching the speed of light and achieving superluminal velocities, there is symmetry in the physical world. As Dragan rightly mentions, symmetry in the context of physics has been derived from Galilean relativity where one can notice that laws of physics are same whether there is a constant velocity. Unfortunately, our understanding for many years was colored by the concept that nothing can move faster than light.

However, as Dragan pointed out on this assumption his model suggested that symmetry could also exist at superluminal speeds. If so the parrot flying higher than the speed of light will follow the same physics laws of a parrot on the earth.

This paper is not about developing ‘warp drive’ propulsion technologies as seen in star trek but a discussion on how two divergent fields of physics can be merged. Harold ‘Sonny’ White, a ex-NASA physicist and founder of the Limitless Space Institute is of the opinion that despite the fact that the conceptions of many folded dimensions of time have previously been proposed, the kind of mathematics that has been used in this paper is quite different. This framework could eventually show direction to a theoretical framework that unifies physics, thus making a unified field theory.

These researchers have revealed this as a possible approach to a more realistic and less transcendentally axiomatic unified physics which is more coherent than the desultory bipartite separation of theories.

You might be wondering: the concept of a superluminal observers and warp factor are all very interesting, but is not the whole thing of warp factor just something from star trek? (At least for now though White’s LSI is working on educational efforts that could, someday take us further. ) Is the superluminal observer just a thought experiment?

Dragan doesn’t think so. This brings us to the ultimate question that can we actually have superluminal objects in the real world he says. “We agree with the latter and therefore we are currently exploring its possibilities. ”

In other words, the idea of a warp-speed shuttle—something that remained a fantasy of sci-fi media producers only a few years ago—may eventually be turned into a rather elegant framework which can pull together two branches of physics, long considered separate. However, objects in the superluminal mirror might not be so unrealistic as it seems to be.

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