Phantom energy traversable wormholes

TL;DR

This paper explores the theoretical construction and properties of traversable wormholes supported by phantom energy, a cosmic fluid with an equation of state that violates the null energy condition, discussing their physical, cosmological, and causality implications.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed analysis of traversable wormholes sustained by phantom energy with specific geometries and energy conditions, including thin shell models and traversability criteria.

Findings

Wormholes can be constructed with minimal null energy condition violation.

Traversability conditions determine specific wormhole dimensions and traversal times.

Phantom energy enables the theoretical existence of macroscopic traversable wormholes.

Abstract

It has been suggested that a possible candidate for the present accelerated expansion of the Universe is ''phantom energy''. The latter possesses an equation of state of the form $\omega\equiv p/\rho<-1$, consequently violating the null energy condition. As this is the fundamental ingredient to sustain traversable wormholes, this cosmic fluid presents us with a natural scenario for the existence of these exotic geometries. Due to the fact of the accelerating Universe, macroscopic wormholes could naturally be grown from the submicroscopic constructions that originally pervaded the quantum foam. One could also imagine an advanced civilization mining the cosmic fluid for phantom energy necessary to construct and sustain a traversable wormhole. In this context, we investigate the physical properties and characteristics of traversable wormholes constructed using the equation of state $p=\omega \rho$, with $\omega<-1$. We analyze specific wormhole geometries, considering asymptotically flat spacetimes and imposing an isotropic pressure. We also construct a thin shell around the interior wormhole solution, by imposing the phantom energy equation of state on the surface stresses. Using the ''volume integral quantifier'' we verify that it is theoretically possible to construct these geometries with vanishing amounts of averaged null energy condition violating phantom energy. Specific wormhole dimensions and the traversal velocity and time are also deduced from the traversability conditions for a particular wormhole geometry. These phantom energy traversable wormholes have far-reaching physical and cosmological implications. For instance, an advanced civilization may use these geometries to induce closed timelike curves, consequently violating causality.