Related papers: Must Time Machine Be Unstable against Vacuum Fluct…
This is a brief survey of the current status of Stephen Hawking's ``chronology protection conjecture''. That is: ``Why does nature abhor a time machine?'' I'll discuss a few examples of spacetimes containing ``time machines'' (closed causal…
In principe, General Relativity seems to allow the existence of closed timelike curves (CTC). However, when quantum effects are considered, it is likely that their existence is prevented by some kind of chronological protection mechanism,…
We argue that it is a fluctuational underpinning of the Quantum vacuum which on the one hand gives a stochastic character to the conservation laws, and on the other is required for explaining the recently observed acceleration of the…
We study chronology protection in stationary, rotationally symmetric spacetimes in 2+1 dimensional gravity, focusing especially on the case of negative cosmological constant. We show that in such spacetimes closed timelike curves must…
Quantum vacuum fluctuations tend to be strongly anti-correlated, which reduces their observable effects. However, time dependence can upset the cancellation of these anti-correlated fluctuations and greatly enhance their effects. This form…
We address chronology protection in stationary, rotationally symmetric spacetimes in 2+1 dimensional gravity, focusing on the case of negative cosmological constant. We show that, if such spacetimes contain closed timelike curves, they…
The role of the identification of the vacuum and non-vacuum space-times in the computation of vacuum fluctuations in the presence of a cosmic string is discussed and an alternative interpretation of the renormalization is proposed. This…
The spin-statistics connection, quantum gravity and other physical considerations suggest that classical space-time topology is not an immutable attribute and can change in quantum physics. The implementation of topology change using…
A very simple wormhole geometry is considered as a model of a mode of topological fluctutation in Planck-scale spacetime foam. Quantum dynamics of the hole reduces to quantum mechanics of one variable, throat radius, and admits a WKB…
The recent interest in ``time machines'' has been largely fueled by the apparent ease with which such systems may be formed in general relativity, given relatively benign initial conditions such as the existence of traversable wormholes or…
The canonical answer to the question posed is "Yes." -- tacitly assuming that quantum theory and the concept of spacetime are to be unified by `quantizing' a theory of gravitation. Yet, instead, one may ponder: Could quantum mechanics arise…
The a priori time in conventional quantum mechanics is shown to contradict the uncertainty principle. A possible solution is given.
It is suggested that the vacuum expectation of the quantum vacuum energy-momentum is zero, but quantum fluctuations give rise to a space-time curvature equivalent to that of a cosmological constant or dark energy. Calculations within…
The outcome of a single quantum experiment is unpredictable, except in a pure-state limit. The definite process that takes place in the apparatus may either be intrinsically random or be explainable from a deeper theory. While the first…
Some time ago we have suggested that positive vacuum energy exhibits a finite quantum break time, which can be a signal that a positive cosmological constant is inconsistent. From the requirement that Universe never undergoes through…
Quantum gravitational effects may induce stochastic fluctuations in the structure of space-time, to produce a characteristic foamy structure. It has been known for some time now that these fluctuations may have observable consequencies for…
Quantum fluctuations of the vacuum are both a surprising and fundamental phenomenon of nature. Understood as virtual photons flitting in and out of existence, they still have a very real impact, \emph{e.g.}, in the Casimir effects and the…
Recently it has been argued that a correct reading of the quantum fluctuations of the vacuum could lead to a solution to the cosmological constant problem. In this work we critically examine such a proposal, finding it questionable due to…
The experimental data, as well as theoretical considerations allow (and, in some cases, require) the Universe at present to rest in a false vacuum, whose approximate stability imposes constraints on the model parameters. Under very general…
When the vacuum fluctuation pressure is calculated directly from fundamental principles of quantum field theory, in the same manner as vacuum fluctuation energy density is commonly calculated, one finds it is not equal to the negative of…