Paradox-downtime travel is in theory possible, according to the mathematical modeling of a prodigious University of Queensland undergraduate trainee.
Fourth-year Bachelor of Advanced Science (Honours) trainee Germain Tobar has actually been examining the possibility of time travel, under the guidance of UQ physicist Dr. Fabio Costa.
“Classical dynamics says if you know the state of a system at a particular time, this can tell us the entire history of the system,” Mr. Tobar stated. “This has a vast array of applications, from enabling us to send out rockets to other worlds and modeling how fluids circulation.
“For example, if I understand the existing position and speed of an item falling under the force of gravity, I can compute where it will be at whenever.
“However, Einstein’s theory of general relativity predicts the existence of time loops or time travel – where an event can be both in the past and future of itself – theoretically turning the study of dynamics on its head.”
Mr. Tobar stated a unified theory that might fix up both standard characteristics and Einstein’s Theory of Relativity was the holy grail of physics.
“But the current science says both theories cannot both be true,” he stated. “As physicists, we wish to comprehend the Universe’s the majority of fundamental, underlying laws and for several years I’ve puzzled on how the science of characteristics can square with Einstein’s forecasts.
“I wondered: “is time travel mathematically possible?”
Mr. Tobar and Dr. Costa state they have actually discovered a method to “square the numbers” and Dr. Costa stated the estimations might have interesting repercussions for science.
“The maths checks out – and the results are the stuff of science fiction,” Dr. Costa stated.
“Say you took a trip in time, in an effort to stop COVID-19’s client no from being exposed to the infection. However if you stopped that private from ending up being contaminated – that would remove the inspiration for you to return and stop the pandemic in the very first location.
“This is a paradox – a disparity that frequently leads individuals to believe that time travel cannot happen in our universe.
“Some physicists say it is possible, but logically it’s hard to accept because that would affect our freedom to make any arbitrary action. It would mean you can time travel, but you cannot do anything that would cause a paradox to occur.”
However, the scientists state their work reveals that neither of these conditions need to hold true, and it is possible for occasions to change themselves to be rationally constant with any action that the time tourist makes.
“In the coronavirus patient zero example, you might try and stop patient zero from becoming infected, but in doing so you would catch the virus and become patient zero, or someone else would,” Mr. Tobar stated.
“No matter what you did, the significant occasions would simply recalibrate around you. This would indicate that – no matter your actions – the pandemic would happen, providing your more youthful self the inspiration to return and stop it.
“Try as you may to produce a paradox, the occasions will constantly change themselves, to prevent any disparity.
“The range of mathematical processes we discovered show that time travel with free will is logically possible in our universe without any paradox.”
Reference: “Reversible dynamics with closed time-like curves and freedom of choice” by Germain Tobar and Fabio Costa, 21 September 2020, Classical and Quantum Gravity.