From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about hypothetical faster-than-light particles. For quantum fields with imaginary mass, see Tachyonic field. For other uses, see Tachyon (disambiguation).
| Classification | Elementary particle |
|---|---|
| Status | Hypothetical |
| Theorized | 1967 |
A tachyon (/ˈtækiɒn/) or tachyonic particle is a hypothetical particle that always travels faster than light. Physicists believe that faster-than-light particles cannot exist because they are inconsistent with the known laws of physics.[1][2] If such particles did exist they could be used to send signals faster than light. According to the theory of relativity this would violate causality, leading to logical paradoxes such as the grandfather paradox.[1] Tachyons would exhibit the unusual property of increasing in speed as their energy decreases, and would require infinite energy to slow down to the speed of light. No verifiable experimental evidence for the existence of such particles has been found.
In the 1967 paper that coined the term, Gerald Feinberg proposed that tachyonic particles could be made from excitations of a quantum field with imaginary mass.[3] However, it was soon realized that Feinberg’s model did not in fact allow for superluminal (faster-than-light) particles or signals and that tachyonic fields merely give rise to instabilities, not causality violations.[4] The term tachyonic field refers to imaginary mass fields rather than to faster-than-light particles.[2][5]
The term comes from the Greek: ταχύ, tachy, meaning swift. The complementary particle types are called luxons (which always move at the speed of light) and bradyons (which always move slower than light); both of these particle types are known to exist.