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i was going over some relativity search online and came across what is called a closed timelike curve and that i actually allows time travel, am i right?
Closed timelike curves (CTCs) are hypothetical paths in the fabric of spacetime that allow an object to return to its own past. This means that events on the CTC can occur in a sequence that violates the principle of causality, where the effect happens before the cause.
CTCs are predicted by some solutions to Einstein's field equations in general relativity, such as the Kerr and Godel metrics. These solutions involve rotating black holes and cosmic strings, respectively. The path of a CTC is a closed loop in spacetime, and an object traveling along this path would experience time travel.
While CTCs are allowed by certain solutions to Einstein's equations, they have not been observed in nature and are currently considered hypothetical. There are also several paradoxes that arise if CTCs were to exist, such as the grandfather paradox, which makes their existence unlikely.
If CTCs were to exist, it would challenge our understanding of causality and time as a linear concept. It could also potentially lead to paradoxes and inconsistencies in the timeline. However, the existence of CTCs is still a subject of debate and further research is needed to fully understand their implications.
Currently, there are no known real-life examples of closed timelike curves. However, some scientists have proposed that the rotation of cosmic strings could create CTCs. These are hypothetical entities that have not been observed in nature but are predicted by some theories in physics.