Exploration of Traversable Wormholes Sustained by an Extra Spatial Dimension

Abstract

The main goal of this paper is to determine the effect of an extra dimension on a traversable wormhole. Here an earlier study by the author [Phys. Rev. D 98 , 064041 (2018)] is extended in several significant ways. To begin with, the extra spatial dimension is assumed to be time dependent, while the redshift and shape functions, as well as the extra dimension, are functions of both r and l , the respective radial and extra coordinates; the last of these is therefore a function of r , l , and t . The main objective is to determine the conditions that allow the throat of the wormhole to be threaded with ordinary matter (by respecting the null energy condition) and that the same conditions lead to a violation of the null energy condition in the fifth dimension, which is therefore responsible for sustaining the wormhole. The dependence of the extra dimension on l and t is subject to additional conditions that are subsequently analyzed in this paper. Finally, the extra dimension may be extremely small or even curled up.