Can science allow time loops, who suggested them, and how was that received?
Research question: Do the laws of physics as understood today, especially general relativity, allow closed timelike curves, and which physicists have proposed them and how were their proposals received?
The records show that general relativity admits solutions containing closed timelike curves, which permit an object to travel back in time and interact with a former version of itself 1415, but such curves have never been observed in the actual universe 28. Van Stockum predicted them in 1937 26, and Kurt Gödel constructed cosmological solutions containing them in 1949 13. Morris, Thorne and Yurtsever linked wormholes to time machines in 1988 4, and Stephen Hawking proposed the chronology protection conjecture to rule such curves out 2431, while David Deutsch proposed the D-CTC quantum model, which avoids logical paradoxes through a self-consistency condition 17. Gödel's universe was dismissed as a model of physical reality because it is unlike our universe 34, and the debate over the D-CTC and P-CTC models remains unresolved 23; the newest fact in the set is dated 2026 6, and the records do not settle whether quantum gravity prevents such curves 27.
Sources
"Zuerst konstruierte Kurt Gödel kosmologische Lösungen der allgemeinen Relativitätstheorie mit geschlossenen zeitartigen Kurven (Zeitreisen)."Wurmloch
"Das Problem lässt sich auf Grundlage der relativistischen Physik umgehen, wenn das Ziel der hypothetischen Zeitreise auf Bereiche außerhalb des sogenannten Vergangenheitslichtkegels ihres Ausgangs beschränkt bleibt."Großvaterparadoxon
"Das Gödel-Universum oder R-Universum bezeichnet eine von dem österreichischen Mathematiker Kurt Gödel 1949 entdeckte kosmologische Lösung der Gleichungen der Allgemeinen Relativitätstheorie (ART)."Gödel-Universum
"Michael Morris, Kip Thorne, Ulvi Yurtsever: Wormholes, time machines and the weak energy condition. Phys. Rev. Lett., 61, 1988, 1446–1449"Wurmloch
"Genauer existieren im Gödel-Universum geschlossene zeitartige Kurven durch jeden Ereignispunkt. Diese sind allerdings keine Geodäten , sodass Zeitreisen nur mit sehr hohen Beschleunigungen möglich wären."Gödel-Universum
"We show this backreaction is consistent with, but does not by itself prove, Hawking's chronology protection conjecture."Closed Timelike Curves in ADM Spacetime (2026)
"Robert A. Fuller, John Archibald Wheeler: Causality and Multiply-Connected Space-Time. Physical Review, Band 128, 1962, 919."Wurmloch
"Das Gödel-Universum ist kein realistisches Modell unseres Universums."Gödel-Universum
"D. Deutsch, M. Lockwood: Die Quantenphysik der Zeitreise , Spektrum der Wissenschaft, November 1994, S. 50–57"Großvaterparadoxon
"Allerdings argumentierte Gödel, dass bereits die theoretische Möglichkeit von Zeitreisen in der ART gegen die Existenz eines objektiven Zeitflusses spricht."Gödel-Universum
"Geschlossene Weltlinien gibt es etwa im Gödel-Universum ( Kurt Gödel , 1949). [ 9 ]"Kausalstruktur
"Durch Betrachtung eines endlichen statt unendlichen Universums konstruierten Ozsvath und Engelbert Schücking 1962 eine Variante ohne Zeitreisen in die Vergangenheit, die aber immer noch das Machsche Prinzip verletzt."Gödel-Universum
"ne geschlossene Kurve, die überall in die Zukunft gerichtet und zeitartig ist, oder überall in die Vergangenheit gerichtet und zeitartig ist."Kausalstruktur
"Einstein’s general theory of relativity allows the existence of closed timelike curves (CTCs) [ 1 , 2 ] , where an object could travel back in time and interact with a former version of itself."Closed timelike curves and the second law of thermodynamics
"Die Gleichungen der allgemeinen Relativitätstheorie besitzen Lösungen, die Zeitschleifen zulassen."Zeitschleife
"One aspect of general relativity that has long intrigued physicists is the relative ease with which one can find solutions to Einstein’s field equations that contain closed timelike curves (CTCs)"Experimental simulation of closed timelike curves
"One of the models that does so was proposed by Deutsch [ 4 ] ."Closed timelike curves and the second law of thermodynamics
"Driven by apparent inconsistencies—like the grandfather paradox—there have been numerous efforts, such as Novikov’s self-consistency principle 4 to reconcile them or Hawking’s chronology protection conjecture 5 , to disprove the existence of CTCs."Experimental simulation of closed timelike curves
"the quantum P-CTC model chooses such solution through post-selection."Closed timelike curves and the second law of thermodynamics
"A number of exact solutions of the Einstein field equations exhibit nontrivial CTCs, including a rapidly rotating infinite cylinder [38, 39], the G¨odel universe [40], a Kerr black hole [41], and spinning cosmic strings [42, 43]."On the Preservation of the Local Properties of Time in General Relativity
"Bennett et al. [ 14 ] questioned all of above implications showing that they simply stem from “falling into a linearity trap”"Closed timelike curves and the second law of thermodynamics
"the low angular momentum Kerr black hole is believed to possess physicalrelevance - it is the unique final state of gravitationalcollapse [44]."On the Preservation of the Local Properties of Time in General Relativity
"The debate regarding which model, either D-CTC or P-CTC, if any, is correct is still ongoing"Closed timelike curves and the second law of thermodynamics
"the laws of physics do not allow the appearance of CTCs."On the Preservation of the Local Properties of Time in General Relativity
"Similar circuits have been found to allow for perfect distinguishability of non-orthogonal quantum states 9 , leading to discomforting possibilities such as breaking of quantum cryptography 9"Experimental simulation of closed timelike curves
"Closed timelike curves were first predicted by Willem Jacob van Stockum in 1937 and expanded upon by Kurt Godel in 1949."The Science of Closed Timelike Curves, Explained
"Without a well-defined theory of quantum gravity this matter is still open to debate [3]."On the Preservation of the Local Properties of Time in General Relativity
"It turns out, closed timelike curves are allowable under General Relativity. That means that they show up in some solutions to Einstein's equations, often involving hugely massive objects like black holes, but have never been observed in the actual universe."The Science of Closed Timelike Curves, Explained
"Even Stephen Hawking proposed a chronological protection conjecture suggesting that the laws of the universe are set up in such a way that time travel is impossible."The Science of Closed Timelike Curves, Explained
"Still, others suggest there is no need to protect chronology, because you can only be inside of a CTC if you were always in it. There are no paradoxes because anything you do in the past is what you were always going to do."The Science of Closed Timelike Curves, Explained
"Die Vermutung zum Schutz der Zeitordnung bzw. der Zeitfolge (engl. chronology protection conjecture bzw. CPC) wurde von Stephen Hawking formuliert, da in einigen Lösungen für die Gleichungen der Allgemeinen Relativitätstheorie geschlossene zeitartige Kurven (engl. closed timelike curves bzw. CTC) auftauchen und diese die Möglichkeit von Zeitreisen auf der Zeitachse rückwärts beinhalten."Liste ungelöster Probleme der Physik
"2009 zeigten dieselben Autoren zusammen mit James Dent, dass solche Raumzeit -Szenarien im Prinzip geschlossene zeitartige Kurven ( Zeitreisen ) ermöglichen könnten."Heinrich Päs
""At last a way to test time travel" , New Scientist 2552 p. 34, 20. Mai 2006 von Marcus Chown"Heinrich Päs
"As a model of physical reality it can therefore be dismissed because it is unlike the universe we live in."Closed timelike curves in general relativity
"2005 diskutierte er zusammen mit Thomas Weiler und Sandip Pakvasa die Möglichkeit, dass sterile Neutrinos Abkürzungen in Extra-Dimensionen nehmen könnten."Heinrich Päs
"Another simple space-time containingCTCs is that of van Stockum [2] which representsa cylinder of rigidly rotating dust; however, the cylinder is of infinite length so it could not be realised in practice."Closed timelike curves in general relativity
"Nearly all of these have been regarded as of merely theoretical interest because of some non-physi"Closed timelike curves in general relativity
"in default of a reasonable interpretation of CTC, general relativity does not give a satisfactory account of all phenomenawithin its terms of reference."Closed timelike curves in general relativity
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