Optical time travel: proposal for testing Hawking's Chronology Protection Conjecture in an optical analogue

D. Bermudez; U. Leonhardt

Optical time travel: proposal for testing Hawking's Chronology Protection Conjecture in an optical analogue

Quantum Physics 2026-07-24 v1 General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology Optics

Authors: D. Bermudez , U. Leonhardt

Abstract

Classical general relativity allows time travel, but Hawking [Phys. Rev. D 46, 603 (1992)] conjectured that quantum mechanics ultimately prevents it. Here we propose a feasible experiment to test Hawking's Chronology Protection Conjecture in optics. In this scheme, time travel is inherently related to lasing, and the amplified vacuum fluctuations above laser threshold establish the quantum limits of time travel

Keywords

chronology protection time travel optical analogue lasing vacuum fluctuations Hawking conjecture

Cite

@article{arxiv.2607.22056,
  title  = {Optical time travel: proposal for testing Hawking's Chronology Protection Conjecture in an optical analogue},
  author = {D. Bermudez and U. Leonhardt},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2607.22056},
  year   = {2026}
}