Gravity Waves

''"Gravity waves are some of the weirdest and most dangerous phenomena in the galaxy. Whatever else is said about them though, they're damn useful. Even a single gravity wave can make both connecting star systems wealthier than a dozen old Imperial systems put together." -Lord Aldric Alim Archelaus Aibek Enlil ''

A gravity wave is an extension of a body's distortion of spacetime across potentially vast distances. Within the boundaries of a gravity wave, spacetime is highly compressed almost to the point where regular physics break down. Due to this immense compression, matter moving through or across a gravity wave can move vast distances within a disparate frame of reference relative to spacetime outside the boundaries of that gravity wave. Nothing moves faster than light within a gravity wave, but extreme spatial-temporal distortion allows matter to traverse greater distances more quickly. After the development of jump vessels during the Expansion Era, gravity waves became the most commonly used pathways for exploratory travel across the galaxy.

Formation


Gravity waves always form as a consequence of the intersection between two or more fields of gravity for two relatively proximal massive bodies, usually stars. Most star systems where gravity waves form are ternary systems, with the potential for the presence of gravity waves increasing in direct proportion to the number of stars present within the system. Most gravity waves are observed in ternary

star systems, with 112 out of the 144 known gravity waves extending from such systems.

The formation of a gravity wave requires that at least two orbiting bodies exist in a stable orbit around their common center of mass, and that there exist at least two barycentric co

ordinates for mutual orbit between every body involved (although this does not preclude the possibility of two barycentric coordinates existing in binary star systems). These barycentric coordinates must remain static relative to each other, with their relative distances and vector angles remaining stable over time. Such an arrangement of barycentric coordinates is extremely rare in nature, and are often unstable, lasting for only a few thousand years before becoming unstable.

When these conditions exist, and if the gravitational distortion of each orbiting body is great enough, spacetime along the axis of the barycenters compresses in a linear fashion along the exterior barycenter at the speed of light. When this compression first occurs, the orbiting bodies in the system are often pulled closer together, intensifying the distortion of spacetime and extending the linear 'wave' of gravity formed even further.

Extension
Gravity waves will extend outward along the axis of the exterior barycenter until they intersect with the gravity field of a massive object, typically another star, which distorts and diminishes the compression of the wave as it approaches. For this reason, the 'end' of each gravity wave ends at the edge of distant star systems, even though the chance of a gravity wave running into the gravity field of a star system is astronomically low. The low probability of a gravity wave running into an opposing gravitational field that can halt its linear compression explains why most gravity waves extend for hundreds to thousands of lightyears in length.

A few gravity waves can pass in close proximity to a gravitational field, run fully through it, and continue to extend through the opposite side. Due to distortion of the wave's linear compression as it runs through the opposing gravitational field, the wave past this field does not compress spacetime to the same extreme as the preceeding length, and can often sometimes veer off in a new trajectory, allowing the wave to 'bend' across space.

Bodies of matter caught in an extending gravity wave that are not massive enough to have a gravity field capable of distorting the extending wave of linear compression are thought to be torn apart by extreme gravitational shearing. Their mass is then either flung out of the gravity wave at relativistic velocities or else streamed across its length.

Terminals
Once a gravity wave has stopped extending, it will stabilize and form two relatively peaceful points along its length where the linear compression of spacetime gradually tapers off. Along the body of a gravity wave, the compression of spacetime is birefrigent, with an immesurable boundary existing between normal spacetime and the frame of reference for the gravity wave. For this reason, faster than light travel utilizing gravity waves typically requires an approach from the two end points of a gravity wave where the shift between reference frames is less extreme. These points are termed 'Approach Terminals,' each of which has an Approach Vector unique to each wave at which the terminal is safe to approach. Each Terminal also has a translation point where an accelerating vessel can transition between two extreme frames of reference.

Most manufactured vessels cannot withstand the extreme gravitational shearing that exists in the immediate vicinity of most translation points. For this reason, initial attempts to use gravity waves as a means of exploratory travel in the expansion era were broadly failures, since no vessel could cross the translation point and enter the relative safety of the compressed frame of reference within the gravity wave without breaking apart.

To date, the only vessels capable of withstanding the gravitational shearing in the vicinity of translation points are jump vessels specifically manufactured for that purpose.

Gravity Wave Junctions
If there exists more than two stable barycenters for massive bodies in a star system meeting the conditions listed above in regards to the formation of gravity waves, more than one gravity wave can form and extend outward from a single system. Star systems which are host to more than one gravity wave are termed 'Gravity Wave Junctions.' To date, there exist no Gravity Wave junctions formed due to the extension of two disparate gravity waves formed in different systems intersecting at their ends.

The Duchy Throne System is highly remarkable for the fact that it is a binary star system featuring six stable barycenters, each with its own corresponding gravity wave.