Related papers: Paradoxes of time travel
If time travel is possible, it seems to inevitably lead to paradoxes. These include consistency paradoxes, such as the famous grandfather paradox, and bootstrap paradoxes, where something is created out of nothing. One proposed class of…
We define the time travel paradox in physical terms and prove its existence by constructing an explicit example. We argue further that in theories -- such as general relativity -- where the spacetime geometry is subject to nothing but…
A time machine that sends information back to the past may, in principle, be built using closed time-like curves. However, the realization of a time machine must be congruent with apparent paradoxes that arise from traveling back in time.…
The closed causal chains arising from backward time travel do not lead to paradoxes if they are self consistent. This raises the question as to how physics ensures that only self-consistent loops are possible. We show that, for one…
In a previous paper, we showed that a class of time travel paradoxes which cannot be resolved using Novikov's self-consistency conjecture can be resolved by assuming the existence of multiple histories or parallel timelines. However, our…
The idea of constructing a time machine is not new and even received a boost thanks to the realization that a traversable wormhole could be converted to a time machine. It was shown in a recent paper that the time-travel paradoxes can be…
We consider two approaches to evading paradoxes in quantum mechanics with closed timelike curves (CTCs). In a model similar to Politzer's, assuming pure states and using path integrals, we show that the problems of paradoxes and of…
Some known relativistic paradoxes are reconsidered for closed spaces, using a simple geometric model. For two twins in a closed space, a real paradox seems to emerge when the traveling twin is moving uniformly along a geodesic and returns…
The problem of absolute motion in the context of the twin paradox is discussed. It is shown that the various versions of the clock paradox feature some aspects which Mach might have been appreciated. However, the ultimate cause of the…
We study a system of an elastic ball moving in the non-relativistic spacetime with a nontrivial causal structure produced by a wormhole-based time machine. For such a system it is possible to formulate a simple model of the so-called…
The twin paradox of the special theory of relativity has given rise to a large body of literature discussing its implications. In its standard form, the traveler changes velocity only at the destination of the trip, so that he appears to…
We introduce a quantum mechanical model of time travel which includes two figurative beam splitters in order to induce feedback to earlier times. This leads to a unique solution to the paradox where one could kill one's grandfather in that…
We present a scenario in $1 + 1$ and $3 + 1$ dimensional space time which is paradoxical in the presence of a time machine. We show that the paradox cannot be resolved and the scenario has {\em no} consistent classical solution. Since the…
It is often argued that superluminal velocities and nontrivial spacetime topologies, allowed by the theory of relativity, may lead to causal paradoxes. By emphasizing that the notion of causality assumes the existence of a time arrow (TA)…
It is claimed in the above paper that, if time travel were possible, quantum propagation would prevent classic time travel paradoxes by establishing consistent loops; an example circuit is used to demonstrate such a loop. It is argued here…
Twins travelling at constant relative velocity will each see the other's time dilate leading to the apparent paradox that each twin believes the other ages more slowly. In a finite space, the twins can both be on inertial, periodic orbits…
General relativity does not prohibit the existence of space-times that describe time travel. Consideration of such spaces gives rise to a lot of questions and paradoxes, among which there are thermodynamic ones. This paper considers two…
There is a deep structural link between acausal spacetimes and quantum theory. As a consequence quantum theory may resolve some "paradoxes" of time travel. Conversely, non-time-orientable spacetimes naturally give rise to electric charges…
The theory of general relativity predicts the existence of closed time-like curves (CTCs), which theoretically would allow an observer to travel back in time and interact with their past self. This raises the question of whether this could…
While the possibility of time travel in physics is still debated, the explosive growth of virtual-reality simulations opens up new possibilities to rigorously explore such time travel and its consequences in the digital domain. Here we…