Related papers: No time machines in classical general relativity
Space-time intervals corresponding to different events on the worldline of any ponderable object (for example a clock) are time-like. In consequence, in the analysis of any space-time experiment involving clocks only the region for $c\Delta…
Understanding the interface between quantum and relativistic theories is crucial for fundamental and practical advances, especially given that key physical concepts such as causality take different forms in these theories. Bell's no-go…
David Albert claims that classical electromagnetic theory is not time reversal invariant. He acknowledges that all physics books say that it is, but claims they are "simply wrong" because they rely on an incorrect account of how the time…
We discuss the usual account of causal structure that relies on the temporal precedence constraint between cause-effect pairs. In particular, we consider the subtle interplay between local and global characters of time and causality encoded…
A link between the possibility of extending a geodessically incomplete kinked spacetime to a spacetime which is geodesically complete and the energy conditions is discussed for the case of a cylindrically-symmetric spacetime kink. It is…
It is postulated there is not a precise static instant in time underlying a dynamical physical process at which the relative position of a body in relative motion or a specific physical magnitude would theoretically be precisely determined.…
Familiar textbook quantum mechanics assumes a fixed background spacetime to define states on spacelike surfaces and their unitary evolution between them. Quantum theory has changed as our conceptions of space and time have evolved. But…
Inspired by some recent works of Tippett-Tsang and Mallary-Khanna-Price, we present a new spacetime model containing closed timelike curves (CTCs). This model is obtained postulating an ad hoc Lorentzian metric on $\mathbb{R}^4$, which…
We give general arguments that any interacting non--conformal {\it classical} field theory in de Sitter space leads to the possibility of constructing a perpetuum mobile. The arguments are based on the observation that massive free falling…
Wormholes have been advanced as both a method for circumventing the limitations of the speed of light as well as a means for building a time machine (to travel to the past). Thus it is argued that General Relativity may allow both of these…
We revisit the issue of causality violations in G\"{o}del's universe, restricting to geodesic motions. It is well-known that while there are closed timelike curves in this spacetime, there are no closed causal geodesics. We show further…
Some authors in the quantum gravity community endorse, explicitly or implicitly, a radical relationalist view of time which states that the ordinal structure of time is not needed even in our classical theories, especially in general…
Looking at current proposals of so-called `warp drive spacetimes', they appear to employ General Relativity only at an elementary level. A number of strong restrictions are imposed such as flow-orthogonality of the spacetime foliation,…
This paper explores the status of some notions which are usually associated to time, like datations, chronology, durations, causality, cosmic time and time functions in the Einsteinian relativistic theories. It shows how, even if some of…
Misner space is a two-dimensional (2D) locally-flat spacetime which elegantly demonstrates the emergence of closed timelike curves from causally well-behaved initial conditions. Here we explore the motion of rigid extended objects in this…
On spacetimes that are not time orientable we construct a U(1) bundle to measure the twisting of the time axis. This single assumption, and simple construction, gives rise to Maxwell's equations of electromagnetism, the Lorentz force law…
The theory of noncommutative geometry provides an interesting mathematical background for developing new physical models. In particular, it allows one to describe the classical Standard Model coupled to Euclidean gravity. However,…
We provide a completely new relation between curvature bounds and definiteness of the causal character of maximizers by exploiting the robust notion of synthetic curvature. This enables us to relate low-regularity inextendibility of…
In quantum mechanics, time is introduced as a non-measurable quantity, as there is no possibility to build a hermitian operator canonically conjugated to the Hamiltonian. We cannot have, therefore, the time operator, which means that the…
I propose a general geometric framework in which to discuss the existence of time observables. This frameworks allows one to describe a local sense in which time observables always exist, and a global sense in which they can sometimes exist…