A new physics-defying hypothesis explains how faster-than-light travel affects the universe.

 Jan 02, 2023 08:15 AM EST

Concept of a black hole with a deep cosmos galaxy

If you travelled faster than light, the universe would seem as it does according to extended special relativity.

A new theory known as the "extension of special relativity" is being developed by researchers from the National University of Singapore and the University of Warsaw in Poland, according to a report from Science Alert.

The new theory offers an alternate, mind-bending scenario to the three spatial dimensions and one time dimension we are all familiar with by combining three time dimensions with one space dimension ("1+3 space-time").

According to a recent research by scientists, it's possible for items to travel faster than the speed of light without fully defying the rules of physics as we know them.

In the end, it depicts the possible appearance of observations made by "superluminal" observers, or observers moving faster than the speed of light.

Long-range special relativity

The new research expands upon earlier work on these hypothetical superluminal observers by several project researchers and was published in the journal Classical and Quantum Gravity.

In their latest study, they suggested that superluminal viewpoints would be able to unite quantum gravity theory with Einstein's special theory of relativity. According to physicist Andrzej Dragan of the University of Warsaw in Poland, "There is no fundamental reason why observers travelling in relation to the specified physical systems with speeds faster than the speed of light should not be susceptible to it."

The new model developed by the study team portrays superluminal particles as resembling a particle that expands like a bubble through space, enabling it to "experience" several timelines.

Even so, according to the Science Alert report, "the speed of light in a vacuum would remain constant even for those observers going faster than it," preserving one of Einstein's fundamental principles, which was previously only considered in relation to observers travelling at a slower speed than the speed of light (like us).

Importantly, the researchers contend that superluminal objects need to be described within the context of field theory, which calls for their expanded special relativity to be logically compatible with earlier models. Dragan stated that the "new definition" upholds Einstein's premise on the stability of the speed of light in a vacuum even for superluminal observers. Thus, "our extended special relativity" does not seem like a particularly novel concept.

A "nobel prize-worthy achievement"

The goal of the researchers is to do more study to fully comprehend the ramifications of their 1+3 space-time paradigm. But according to their preliminary study, extended special relativity might allow for the existence of all extraordinary features in the universe's components.

According to University of Warsaw physicist Krzysztof Turzyski, "the mere experimental finding of a new fundamental particle is an accomplishment worthy of the Nobel Prize and doable in a big research team employing the newest experimental techniques."

To better understand the process of spontaneous symmetry breaking connected to the mass of the Higgs particle and other Standard Model components, particularly in the early Universe, we intend to use our findings.

Study abstract:

To account for superluminal inertial observers, we develop an extension of special relativity in 1+3 dimensional spacetime. We then demonstrate that this extension rules out the usual dynamics of mechanical point-like particles and compels the use of a field-theoretic framework. We thereby demonstrate that field theory may be seen as an immediate result of extended special relativity.