Closed timelike curves and `effective' superluminal travel with naked line singularities

DOI10.1088/1361-6382/AAD306zbMATH Open1409.83025arXiv1708.09505OpenAlexW3102477611WikidataQ129491714 ScholiaQ129491714MaRDI QIDQ3120891FDOQ3120891

Authors: Caroline Mallary, Gaurav Khanna, Richard H. Price 

Publication date: 19 March 2019

Published in: Classical and Quantum Gravity (Search for Journal in Brave)

Abstract: We examine closed timelike curves (CTCs) and "effective" superluminal travel in a spacetime containing naked line singularities, which we call "wires". Each wire may be straight-line singularity or a ring singularity. The Weak Energy Condition (WEC) is preserved in all well-defined regions of the spacetime. (The singularities themselves are not well-defined, so the WEC is undefined there, but it is never explicitly violated.) Parallel to the wire, "effective" superluminal travel is possible, in that the wire may be used as a shortcut between distant regions of spacetime. Our purpose in presenting the superluminal aspects of the wire is to dispel the commonly held view that explicit WEC violation is necessary for effective superluminal travel, whereas in truth the strictures against superluminal travel are more complicated. We also demonstrate how the existence of such "wires" could create CTCs. We present a model spacetime which contains two wires which are free to move relative to each other. This spacetime is asymptotically flat: It becomes a Minkowski spacetime a finite distance away from each of the wires. The CTCs under investigation do not need to enter the wires' singularities, and can be confined to regions that are weak-field: This means that if these wires were physically possible, they would present causality problems even in nonsingular, energetically realistic regions of the spacetime. We conclude that the Weak Energy Condition alone is not sufficient to prevent superluminal travel in asymptotically flat spacetimes.

Full work available at URL: https://arxiv.org/abs/1708.09505

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zbMATH Keywords

relativityclosed timelike curvesnaked singularitiessuperluminal motiontime machine

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Equations of motion in general relativity and gravitational theory (83C10) Applications of differential geometry to physics (53Z05) Space-time singularities, cosmic censorship, etc. (83C75)

Cites Work

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• Initial data and the end state of spherically symmetric gravitational collapse
• Naked singularities formation in the gravitational collapse of barotropic spherical fluids

Cited In (5)

• Billiard-ball paradox for a quantum wave packet
• Reversible dynamics with closed time-like curves and freedom of choice
• A topological drive for spacetime travel
• Closed timelike curves in the Galileon model
• Closed timelike curves and chronology protection in quantum and classical simulators

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