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arXiv:gr-qc/0410035 · Physical review. D. Particles, fields, gravitation, and cosmology/Physical review. D. Particles and fields

Time travel paradoxes, path integrals, and the many worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics

Allen E. Everett

Published Jun 25, 2004• 39 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We consider two approaches to evading paradoxes in quantum mechanics with closed timelike curves. In a model similar to Politzer's, assuming pure states and using path integrals, we show that the problems of paradoxes and of unitarity violation are related; preserving unitarity avoids paradoxes by modifying the time evolution so that improbable events become certain. Deutsch has argued, using the density matrix, that paradoxes do not occur in the ``many worlds interpretation.'' We find that in this approach account must be taken of the resolution time of the device that detects objects emerging from a wormhole or other time machine. When this is done one finds that this approach is viable only if macroscopic objects traversing a wormhole interact with it so strongly that they are broken into microscopic fragments.

DOI
10.1103/physrevd.69.124023

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arXiv:2007.12677•Physical Review A•Apr 28, 2021•5 citations
We consider two approaches to evading paradoxes in quantum mechanics with closed timelike curves. In a model similar to Politzer's, assuming pure states and using path integrals, we show that the problems of paradoxes and of unitarity violation are related; preserving unitarity avoids paradoxes by modifying the time evolution so that improbable events become certain. Deutsch has argued, using the density matrix, that paradoxes do not occur in the ``many worlds interpretation.'' We find that in this approach account must be taken of the resolution time of the device that detects objects emerging from a wormhole or other time machine. When this is done one finds that this approach is viable only if macroscopic objects traversing a wormhole interact with it so strongly that they are broken into microscopic fragments.
Two formulations of quantum mechanics, inequivalent in the presence of closed timelike curves, are studied in the context of a soluable system. It illustrates how quantum field nonlinearities lead to a breakdown of unitarity, causality, and superposition using a path integral. Deutsch's density matrix approach is causal but typically destroys coherence. For each of these formulations I demonstrate that there are yet further alternatives in prescribing the handling of information flow (inequivalent to previous analyses) that have implications for any system in which unitarity or coherence is not preserved.
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.
For time travel to be consistent with the known laws of physics, the resulting paradoxes must be resolved. It has been suggested that parallel timelines (a.k.a. multiple histories) may provide a resolution. However, so far, a concrete mechanism by which parallel timelines can be created has never been satisfactorily formulated. In this paper we propose such a mechanism based on the Everett (many-worlds) interpretation of quantum mechanics, together with a linear pure-state CTC consistency condition. The timelines in our model are emergent, like the "worlds" of the Everett interpretation; they are created by the entanglement of the time machine with the environment and the resulting decoherence. Therefore, we call them "entangled timelines" or E-CTCs. As the entanglement gradually spreads out to additional systems, the timelines spread out as well, providing a local and well-defined alternative to the naive "branching timelines" picture often presented in the literature. The E-CTC model is similar to Deutsch's familiar D-CTC model, but differs from it mainly by keeping the entangled state explicit and imposing a different consistency condition. These differences allow us to create a clearer practical definition of the resulting parallel timelines.
The methods of the quantum theory of computation are used to analyze the physics of closed timelike lines. This is dominated, even at the macroscopic level, by quantum mechanics. In classical physics the existence of such lines in a spacetime imposes "paradoxical" constraints on the state of matter in their past and also provides means for knowledge to be created in ways that conflict with the principles of the philosophy of science. In quantum mechanics the first of these pathologies does not occur. The second is mitigated, and may be avoidable without such spacetimes being ruled out. Several novel and distinctive (but nonparadoxical) quantum-mechanical effects occur on and near closed timelike lines, including violations of the correspondence principle and of unitarity. It becomes possible to "clone" quantum systems and to measure the state of a quantum system. A new experimental test of the Everett interpretation against all others becomes possible. Consideration of these and other effects sheds light on the nature of quantum mechanics.
Abstract Past studies of the billiard-ball paradox, a problem involving an object that travels back in time along a closed timelike curve (CTC), typically concern themselves with entirely classical histories, whereby any trajectorial effects associated with quantum mechanics cannot manifest. Here we develop a quantum version of the paradox, wherein a (semiclassical) wave packet evolves through a region containing a wormhole time machine. This is accomplished by mapping all relevant paths on to a quantum circuit, in which the distinction of the various paths is facilitated by representing the billiard particle with a clock state. For this model, we find that Deutsch's prescription (D-CTCs) provides self-consistent solutions in the form of a mixed state composed of terms which represent every possible configuration of the particle’s evolution through the circuit. In the equivalent circuit picture (ECP), this reduces to a binomial distribution in the number of loops of time machine. The postselected teleportation prescription (P-CTCs) on the other hand predicts a pure-state solution in which the loop counts have binomial coefficient weights. We then discuss the model in the continuum limit, with a particular focus on the various methods one may employ in order to guarantee convergence in the average number of clock evolutions. Specifically, for D-CTCs, we find that it is necessary to regularise the theory’s parameters, while P-CTCs alternatively require more contrived modification.