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arXiv:gr-qc/0209061gr-qc

Computers with closed timelike curves can solve hard problems

Todd A. Brun

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Abstract

A computer which has access to a closed timelike curve, and can thereby send the results of calculations into its own past, can exploit this to solve difficult computational problems efficiently. I give a specific demonstration of this for the problem of factoring large numbers, and argue that a similar approach can solve NP-complete and PSPACE-complete problems. I discuss the potential impact of quantum effects on this result.

arXiv comments
9 pages LaTeX; submitted to Foundations of Physics Letters
Journal reference
Found.Phys.Lett. 16 (2003) 245-253
DOI
doi:10.1023/A:1025967225931
Subjects
gr-qcGeneral Relativity and Quantum Cosmology cs.CCComputational Complexity quant-phQuantum Physics

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