Breaking the light speed barrier

TL;DR

This paper explores the theoretical possibility of a new class of superluminal particles called elvisebrions, which differ from tachyons by existing outside special relativity and having finite or zero energy at light speed.

Contribution

It proposes a novel hypothetical particle class, elvisebrions, inspired by analogies to dislocation models and addressing superluminal phenomena beyond traditional tachyon concepts.

Findings

Elvisebrions could exist outside the framework of special relativity.

They may have finite or zero energy as their velocity approaches light speed.

The concept is motivated by analogies to the Frenkel-Kontorova model.

Abstract

As it is well known, classical special relativity allows the existence of three different kinds of particles: bradyons, luxons and tachyons. Bradyons have non-zero mass and hence always travel slower than light. Luxons are particles with zero mass, like the photon, and they always travel with invariant velocity. Tachyons are hypothetical superluminal particles that always move faster than light. The existence of bradyons and luxons is firmly established, while the tachyons were never reliably observed. In quantum field theory, the appearance of tachyonic degrees of freedom indicates vacuum instability rather than a real existence of the faster-than-light particles. However, recent controversial claims of the OPERA experiment about superluminal neutrinos triggered a renewed interest in superluminal particles. Driven by a striking analogy of the old Frenkel-Kontorova model of a dislocation dynamics to the theory of relativity, we conjecture in this note a remarkable possibility of existence of the fourth type of particles, elvisebrions, which can be superluminal. The characteristic feature of elvisebrions, distinguishing them from tachyons, is that they are outside the realm of special relativity and their energy remains finite (or may even turn to zero) when the elvisebrion velocity approaches the light velocity.