Boost and velocity transformation. For the moving frame,
The inverse has . Taking differentials of that inverse and dividing by gives
Constant proper acceleration. For collinear motion, the instantaneous rest-frame acceleration is . Since ,
Write ; then . Starting from rest gives , and . integration with the stated initial origin yields
photon rocket mass ratio. In the instantaneous rest frame, ejecting backward photon energy gives, to first order, and . Hence , and
Here includes all stored fuel and energy. This assumes complete conversion into a perfectly collimated photon exhaust without other losses.
photon-rocket fuel for acceleration and braking. With effectively instantaneous changes of speed, the cruise proper time is , giving
Braking to rest costs another factor , so . If equal rest masses of matter and antimatter annihilate, the consumed antimatter is half the total consumed fuel:
This is the fraction of initial total mass, not the antimatter fraction of the consumed matter–antimatter fuel, which is one half.
finite-acceleration correction to a relativistic cruise. Each constant-proper-acceleration leg has proper duration and Earth-frame length . Thus
Subtracting the original gives
For , each accelerating leg takes about proper years and covers light years in the Earth frame, leaving positive cruise distance. The new total is about 13.98 proper years. Adding to ten years would overcount the cruise segment replaced by acceleration and braking.
Figure 1.
Original photon-drive journey with instantaneous and finite acceleration, separating Earth time from traveller time
. Details.
Photon rocket 2026-10-20
A photon rocket converts stored mass-energy into a collimated beam of photons. In its instantaneous rest frame, energy conservation gives , and momentum conservation gives . Therefore a monotone change in rapidity costs . The rocket's rest mass includes its fuel and stored internal energy; inefficiency or an angular spread of the exhaust increases the fuel requirement.