%0 Journal Article
%A Barceló, Carlos
%A Boyanov Savov, Valentin
%A Garay Elizondo, Luis Javier
%A Martín Martínez, Eduardo
%A Sánchez Velázquez, José Manuel
%T Warp drive aerodynamics
%D 2022
%@ 1029-8479
%U https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/73047
%X In this work we analyse the potential for a warp drive spacetime to develop instabilities due to the presence of quantum matter. Particularly, we look for points of infinite blueshift (which are analogous to points of a black hole inner horizon, known for its semiclassical instability), and categorise them through the behaviour of geodesics in their vicinity. We find that warp-drive bubbles in dimension 2+1 or higher are in fact likely to be stable, as they generally contain only isolated points where divergences are approached, leading to a finite limit for the overall accumulation of destabilising energy. Furthermore, any semiclassical instabilities in the warp drive due to energy-density buildups can be further diminished with particular, more "aerodynamic" shapes and trajectories for the drive.
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