In one minute

Santos-Pereira, Abreu and Ribeiro solve the Einstein equations with a cosmological constant for the Alcubierre warp drive metric, with a perfect fluid as the source. They also treat dust with a cosmological constant, generalising their earlier dust solution, which linked the warp drive to shock waves through the Burgers equation. Alcubierre's original metric was guessed rather than solved from the Einstein equations; this work solves them and analyses all energy conditions. The shift vector along the bubble's motion couples the Einstein equations so that the energy-momentum source needs off-diagonal terms. Warp speeds thus call for a complex distribution of energy, matter and momentum, richer than dust for stable solutions, and negative matter may not be strictly required.

Perfect fluid warp drive solutions with the cosmological constant