Physicists Say Time Travel Simulation Is Possible: Here's How

Quincy Jon, Tech Times 29 October 2023, 11:10 am

Most people see time as a one-directional arrow in the universe's symphony. But the world of theoretical quantum physicists is one in which the direction of time is far more flexible. These experts can calculate, simulate, and observe retrograde time, providing an intriguing insight into reverse time travel.

A group of scientists has shown that these simulations of reverse time travel contain the key to solving physics puzzles that have, up until now, eluded conventional understanding. David Arvidsson-Shukur, a physicist at Cambridge University, was the experiment's leader.

Going Back to The Past to Alter The Future

In the experiment, Arvidsson-Shukur and his colleagues simulate a theoretical reverse time loop to manipulate the input state of a system. In this simulation, parameters are changeable even after they have been established.

The researchers used the phenomenon of quantum entanglement, which causes two particles' characteristics to become inextricably connected regardless of their physical distance from one another. Their method of manipulating time was quantum teleportation, which is the technique of sending information via this entanglement.

"In our proposal, an experimentalist entangles two particles," says Nicole Yunger Halpern, a physicist from the University of Maryland and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). "The first particle is then sent to be used in an experiment. Upon gaining new information, the experimentalist manipulates the second particle to effectively alter the first particle's past state, changing the outcome of the experiment," Halpern noted, as quoted by Science Alert.

The group suggests using a lot of entangled photons to get around the high failure rate. After a while, some of these photons will contain updated, accurate information, and a filter will make sure that only the right photons get to their destination, rejecting the rest.

Will Time Travel Become a Reality Soon?

Even though the idea may seem confusing, it is important to understand that if this time-travel simulation were flawless, in the real world, it would be quite different. Moreover, scientists are not sure whether closed timelike curves (CTC) exist.

According to Yunger Halpern, the known laws of physics permit the existence of CTCs, but those laws are insufficient; most obviously, we lack a theory of quantum gravity. "Regardless of whether true CTCs exist, though, one can use entanglement to simulate CTCs, as others showed before we wrote our paper," as reported by Gizmodo.

It is not new to try to comprehend time, entanglement, and the quantum world. Last year, researchers reported having created a quantum wormhole allowing instantaneous quantum information transport. Teams used entanglement in previous years to synchronize drums as thin as human hairs. The 2022 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to the three scientists in respect of their research on quantum entanglement. Their work underlines this notion's significance in the scientific field.

Fundamentally, these simulations offer a method to explore the captivating idea of time travel unconstricted by the universe's laws. The existence of closed-timelike curves is undetermined, but the researchers feel their Gedankenexperiment offers a novel and intriguing way to study quantum physics.

As David Arvidsson-Shukur eloquently summarized, as quoted by Phys.org, "We are not proposing a time travel machine, but rather a deep dive into the fundamentals of quantum mechanics. These simulations do not allow you to go back and alter your past, but they do allow you to create a better tomorrow by fixing yesterday's problems today."