The university's Field Theory working group has been researching Einstein's theory of relativity for years - and at the same time going beyond it. The Oldenburg physicists have now demonstrated the existence of wormholes with astonishing properties.
In the science fiction genre, wormholes are tunnels between universes, used for interstellar travel to trick space and time. The theory of gravity motivated by string theory - which combines elementary particle physics with gravity - also assumes the existence of these structures. The scientists have now demonstrated the existence of new types of wormholes. Their research results have been published in the renowned journals "Physical Review Letters" and "The Physical Review D" and featured in a cover story in the science magazine "New Scientist".
Wormholes are also possible according to Einstein's theory of gravity, explains Kunz. However, according to this theory, they are purely hypothetical, are considered unstable and can only exist in the presence of "exotic" matter - a hypothetical form of matter. "However, if Einstein's theory of gravity is modified by corrections to string theory, wormholes can exist with significantly different properties," says the physicist. The newly discovered wormholes do not require "exotic" matter in order to exist. "They appear to be stable within a certain parameter range. In principle, these wormholes could also be arbitrarily large, but not arbitrarily small."
The Field Theory working group has been researching Einstein's general theory of relativity and its solutions for years. However, their research goes beyond Einstein's theory. "Newer theories, such as string theory, give us hope for a unification of quantum theory and gravity," explains Kleihaus. And although the scientists only regard the Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet-Dilaton theory they are investigating as a simplified physical model - a "toy model" - it nevertheless models important properties of a "realistic" theory of gravity with string corrections.
The working group now wants to investigate the existence of wormholes in such "realistic" theories in more detail and also analyse their possible astrophysical consequences.