Limits and Signatures of Relativistic Spaceflight

TL;DR

This paper explores how the cosmic microwave background imposes fundamental limits on relativistic spaceflight and proposes signatures for detecting ultra-relativistic objects through photon scattering.

Contribution

It introduces the concept that cosmic microwave background interactions set a lower speed limit and provides potential observational signatures for ultra-relativistic objects.

Findings

Cosmic microwave background limits relativistic travel speeds.

Photon scattering signatures can detect ultra-relativistic objects.

Relativistic spaceflight faces fundamental physical constraints.

Abstract

While special relativity imposes an absolute speed limit at the speed of light, our Universe is not empty Minkowski spacetime. The constituents that fill the interstellar/intergalactic vacuum, including the cosmic microwave background photons, impose a lower speed limit on any object travelling at relativistic velocities. Scattering of cosmic microwave phtotons from an ultra-relativistic object may create radiation with a characteristic signature allowing the detection of such objects at large distances.