arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Shawn Westmoreland.
We generalize the time-variable dark energy scalar field $Φ$ model ($Φ$CDM) to nonflat space. We show that even in the space-curvature-dominated epoch the scalar field solution is a time-dependent fixed point or attractor, with scalar field energy density that grows relative to the energy density in spatial curvature. This is the first example of a physically consistent and complete model of dynamical dark energy in a nonflat geometry.
We exhibit a static, cylindrically symmetric, exact solution to the Euler-Heisenberg field equations (EHFE) and prove that its effective geometry contains (optical) black holes. It is conjectured that there are also soliton solutions to the EHFE which contain black hole geometries.
In the context of special relativity, we discuss the specific impulse of a rocket whose exhaust jet consists of massive and/or massless particles. This work generalizes previous results and corrects some errors of a recently published paper by U. Walter. (The errors stem from the omission of a Lorentz factor.)
We investigate whether it is physically possible to build starships or power sources using the Hawking radiation of an artificial black hole as a power source. The proposal seems to be at the edge of possibility, but quantum gravity effects could change the picture.
We study a flat spacetime with a compact spatial dimension and dispute the claim of Bansal, Laing, and Sriharan that a local experiment can determine whether or not an inertial observer is "privileged" in this spacetime.