The wormhole, the new star of physics

Between Interstellar and the Marvel films, the wormhole remains the most fantastical object in SF – this cosmic door is very practical for instantly traveling between two distant places in the Universe. What if the central black hole of our galaxy was actually a wormhole?

Hervé Poirier, editor-in-chief of the scientific magazine Epsiloon takes us today into science fiction. What if the central black hole of our galaxy was actually a wormhole? What if they were everywhere? What if this was the key to understanding space-time?

franceinfo: Do ​​you want to take us through a wormhole?

Hervé Poirier: It’s totally crazy, yes. The hole of a worm, it is the most fantastical object in SF. We see it in Interstellar, in Marvel films or in old comics: it is this space-time tunnel which connects two distant places in the Universe, a sort of cosmic door, often represented by a circle of fire: in scenarios, it is very practical for traveling.

Basically, it was an idea from Einstein, who wondered what happens if two black holes interact. Relativistic equations show that this creates a connection, a sort of bridge: if you enter through one, you exit through the other. This inspired SF authors, but for a long time, not physicists.

The rare studies tended to show that the structure is not stable; the door only remains open for a fraction of a second; not even a particle can pass through it. Except that today, this movie star is becoming a central object of physics.

What changed ?

The trigger was a 2016 paper, which showed for the first time that there might actually be stable, traversable wormholes. Since then, dozens of articles have been published on the subject, and signed by great physicists. For example, he was watch recently that a sufficiently large wormhole can be crossed by a human, who would take an acceleration of 10G – bearable – and find themselves propelled in a few seconds, tens of thousands of light years – although with the risk of get fried by particles coming in the opposite direction…

These theoretical studies focus on simplified universe models: to accurately describe a wormhole, it is necessary to combine quantum mechanics and general relativity, which still remains out of reach today. But a deep link is being forged with quantum entanglement, which describes the propensity of two particles to remain connected to each other, even when they move away. It’s fascinating. The wormhole has become the new laboratory of theoretical physics.

And could it really exist?

Observers are starting to seriously ask the question, thanks to the black hole detectors that have already been deployed. According to their analysis, a wormhole would resemble a black hole, but with a singular signature, a kind of characteristic oscillation. What if the central black hole of our galaxy was actually a wormhole? What if, upon entering it, we immediately found ourselves propelled to the other side of the universe? The question is crazy. But it’s no longer science fiction!