According to our current understanding of physics, nothing with mass can travel faster than the speed of light in a vacuum. This principle is a fundamental concept in Einstein's theory of relativity.
The theory of relativity, specifically special relativity, describes the behavior of objects with respect to the speed of light. It states that as an object with mass approaches the speed of light, its energy and momentum increase, requiring an infinite amount of energy to reach or exceed the speed of light. Therefore, particles with mass, such as electrons, protons, or any other known particles, cannot travel faster than light.
However, it's important to note that the theory of relativity does not prohibit the existence of particles or phenomena that can travel faster than light. It simply states that objects with mass cannot achieve or exceed the speed of light. In certain theoretical models, there are hypothetical particles, such as tachyons, that are considered to have imaginary mass and travel faster than light. However, there is currently no experimental evidence supporting the existence of such particles, and they remain purely hypothetical at this point.
It's also worth mentioning that the speed of light itself is not a universal speed limit for all phenomena. There are instances where certain phenomena, such as the expansion of the universe during inflation, can lead to a rapid expansion of space that effectively separates two points faster than light. However, this expansion is due to the stretching of space itself and does not involve any objects or particles physically moving faster than light.
In summary, within our current understanding of physics, particles with mass cannot travel faster than light. While there are theoretical concepts that involve faster-than-light travel, they remain speculative and have not been observed or confirmed experimentally.