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Full Description
From H.G. Wells to Star Trek, audiences have been captivated by the notions of time travel, time warps, space warps, and wornholes. But science fiction is not the only realm where these concepts thrive. An active group of general relativists and quantum field theorists has produced a considerable body of serious (thought admittedly speculative) mathematical and physical analyses of the wormhole system. Now, with this fascinating book, readers can explore in depth the science behind the science fiction. Drawing on pivotal work by Einstein, Wheeler, Morris, Thorne, Hawking, and others, Matt Visser charts the development and current state of Lorentzian wormhole physics. Dr. Visser shows that by pushing established physical theories to their limits, it is possible to deduce the physical properties of such exotica as wormholes and time travel. The physical framework he uses is derived from one of the major research frontiers of modern theoretical physics: quantum gravity-the intersection of classical Einstein gravity and quantum field theory.
Physicists, students of general relativity, cosmology, quantum physics, or any interested reader with a background in physics wil find this a provocative introduction to an exciting and active topic of ongoing research.
Contents
Preface; Acknowledgments; I. Background: 1. Introduction; 2. General Relativity; 3. Quantum Field Theory; 4. Units and Natural Scales; II. History: 5. The Einstein-Rosen Bridge; 6. Spacetime Foam; 7. The Kerr Wormhole; 8. The Cosmological Constant; 9. Wormhole Taxonomy; 10. Interregnum; III. Renaissance: 11. Traversible Wormholes; 12. Energy Conditions; 13. Engineering Considerations; 14. Thin Shells: Fromalism; 15. Thin Shells: Wormholes; 16. Topological Censorship; IV.: Time Travel: 17. Chronology: Basic Notions; 18. From Wormhole to Time Machine; 19. Response to the Paradoxes; V. Quantum Effects; 20. Semiclassical Quantum Gravity; 21. van Vleck Determinants: Formalism; 22. van Vleck Determinants: Wormholes; 23. Singularity Structure; 24. Minisuperspace Wormholes; VI. Reprise: 25. Where We Stand; Bibliography; Index
