It turns out those sci-fi wormholes might actually stay open long enough to travel through, even when you factor in all the messy quantum physics.
March 13, 2026
Original Paper
Quantum backreaction and stability of topological wormholes
arXiv · 2603.11724
The Takeaway
Most physicists assume that quantum fluctuations would cause a traversable wormhole to snap shut or collapse instantly. This study suggests that under certain conditions, quantum effects could actually provide the stability needed to keep the cosmic tunnel open and safe for passage.
From the abstract
We investigate the quantum stability of a timelike topological wormhole with a simple geometry $M_2 \times S^2$, supported classically by anisotropic fluid. We compute the one-loop quantum backreaction generated by the vacuum fluctuations of a minimally coupled, massive scalar field propagating on the wormhole background. Using dimensional regularization we renormalize the one-loop energy-momentum tensor and identify the necessary gravitational counterterms. We then solve the semiclassical Einst