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arXiv:1401.4933 · Physical Review A

Treating time travel quantum mechanically

John-Mark A. Allen

Published Oct 9, 2014• 25 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

The fact that closed timelike curves (CTCs) are permitted by general relativity raises the question as to how quantum systems behave when time travel to the past occurs. Research into answering this question by utilizing the quantum circuit formalism has given rise to two theories: Deutschian-CTCs (D-CTCs) and ``postselected'' CTCs (P-CTCs). In this paper the quantum circuit approach is thoroughly reviewed, and the strengths and shortcomings of D-CTCs and P-CTCs are presented in view of their nonlinearity and time-travel paradoxes. In particular, the ``equivalent circuit model''---which aims to make equivalent predictions to D-CTCs, while avoiding some of the difficulties of the original theory---is shown to contain errors. The discussion of D-CTCs and P-CTCs is used to motivate an analysis of the features one might require of a theory of quantum time travel, following which two overlapping classes of alternate theories are identified. One such theory, the theory of ``transition probability'' CTCs (T-CTCs), is fully developed. The theory of T-CTCs is shown not to have certain undesirable features---such as time-travel paradoxes, the ability to distinguish nonorthogonal states with certainty, and the ability to clone or delete arbitrary pure states---that are present with D-CTCs and P-CTCs. The problems with nonlinear extensions to quantum mechanics are discussed in relation to the interpretation of these theories, and the physical motivations of all three theories are discussed and compared.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.90.042107

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The fact that closed timelike curves (CTCs) are permitted by general relativity raises the question as to how quantum systems behave when time travel to the past occurs. Research into answering this question by utilizing the quantum circuit formalism has given rise to two theories: Deutschian-CTCs (D-CTCs) and postselected'' CTCs (P-CTCs). In this paper the quantum circuit approach is thoroughly reviewed, and the strengths and shortcomings of D-CTCs and P-CTCs are presented in view of their nonlinearity and time-travel paradoxes. In particular, the equivalent circuit model''---which aims to make equivalent predictions to D-CTCs, while avoiding some of the difficulties of the original theory---is shown to contain errors. The discussion of D-CTCs and P-CTCs is used to motivate an analysis of the features one might require of a theory of quantum time travel, following which two overlapping classes of alternate theories are identified. One such theory, the theory of ``transition probability'' CTCs (T-CTCs), is fully developed. The theory of T-CTCs is shown not to have certain undesirable features---such as time-travel paradoxes, the ability to distinguish nonorthogonal states with certainty, and the ability to clone or delete arbitrary pure states---that are present with D-CTCs and P-CTCs. The problems with nonlinear extensions to quantum mechanics are discussed in relation to the interpretation of these theories, and the physical motivations of all three theories are discussed and compared.
One out of many emerging implications from solutions of Einstein's general relativity equations are closed timelike curves (CTCs), which are trajectories through space-time that allow for time travel to the past without exceeding the speed of light. Two main quantum models of computation with the use of CTCs were introduced by Deutsch (D-CTC) and by Bennett and Schumacher (P-CTC). Unlike the classical theory in which CTCs lead to logical paradoxes, the quantum D-CTC model provides a solution that is logically consistent due to the self-consistency condition imposed on the evolving system, whereas the quantum P-CTC model chooses such a solution through postselection. Both models are nonequivalent and imply nonstandard phenomena in the field of quantum computation and quantum mechanics. In this paper, we study the implications of these two models on the second law of thermodynamics---the fundamental principle which states that in an isolated system the entropy never decreases. In particular, we construct CTC-based quantum circuits which lead to a decrease in entropy.
Closed timelike curves (CTCs) are trajectories in spacetime that effectively travel backwards in time: a test particle following a CTC can interact with its former self in the past. A widely accepted quantum theory of CTCs was proposed by Deutsch. Here we analyze an alternative quantum formulation of CTCs based on teleportation and postselection, and show that it is inequivalent to Deutsch's. The predictions or retrodictions of our theory can be simulated experimentally: we report the results of an experiment illustrating how in our particular theory the "grandfather paradox" is resolved.
This paper discusses the quantum mechanics of closed-timelike curves (CTCs) and of other potential methods for time travel. We analyze a specific proposal for such quantum time travel, the quantum description of CTCs based on post-selected teleportation (P-CTCs). We compare the theory of P-CTCs to previously proposed quantum theories of time travel: the theory is inequivalent to Deutsch's theory of CTCs, but it is consistent with path-integral approaches (which are the best suited for analyzing quantum-field theory in curved space-time). We derive the dynamical equations that a chronology-respecting system interacting with a CTC will experience. We discuss the possibility of time travel in the absence of general-relativistic closed-timelike curves, and investigate the implications of P-CTCs for enhancing the power of computation.
Closed timelike curves (CTCs) are a theoretical testbed for how quantum mechanics behaves when causal order breaks down. Two major quantum models exist: Deutsch CTCs, which impose a fixed-point self-consistency condition on the state inside the loop, and postselected CTCs, which model time travel via teleportation and postselection. Although both avoid logical paradoxes, they generally produce different quantum evolutions for the same circuit. This paper compares the two models directly at the circuit level using a small density-matrix and statevector simulator. The Deutsch model is implemented by solving for self-consistent fixed points; the postselected model by applying the corresponding nonlinear postselection map. Identical test circuits, including grandfather-paradox circuits, CNOT, SWAP, controlled-unitary families, and Haar-random unitaries, are run through both models, and the outputs compared using trace distance. The two models are found to disagree generically, not just numerically. The disagreement stems from a structural difference: Deutsch CTCs enforce consistency with mixed fixed-point states, while postselected CTCs renormalize only successful histories. For example, the X-gate "grandfather" circuit yields a well-defined mixed state under the Deutsch rule but an undefined (null-projection) output under postselection. Across 200 random unitaries, the two prescriptions never agree. All simulation code is included for full reproducibility.
Closed Timelike Curves (CTCs) are intriguing relativistic objects that allow for time travel to the past and can be used as computational resources. In Deutschian Closed Timelike Curves (D-CTCs), due to the monogamy of entanglement, non-local correlations between entangled states are destroyed. In contrast, for Postselected Closed Timelike Curves (P-CTCs), a second variant of CTCs, the non-local correlations are preserved. P-CTCs can be harnessed for the signaling of non-orthogonal states to the past without a disruption of causality. In this paper, we take up signaling to the past and show a method of sending four non-orthogonal states to the past using P-CTCs. After constructing our signaling protocol, we study the causality violations that our protocol results in and put forward two consistency relations to prevent them.
Closed Timelike Curves (CTCs) are intriguing relativistic objects that allow for time travel to the past and can be used as computational resources. In Deutschian Closed Timelike Curves (D-CTCs), due to the monogamy of entanglement, non-local correlations between entangled states are destroyed. In contrast, for Postselected Closed Timelike Curves (P-CTCs), a second variant of CTCs, the non-local correlations are preserved. P-CTCs can be harnessed for the signaling of non-orthogonal states to the past without a disruption of causality. In this paper, we take up signaling to the past and show a method of sending four non-orthogonal states to the past using P-CTCs. After constructing our signaling protocol, we study the causality violations that our protocol results in and put forward two consistency relations to prevent them.