Quantum encryption broken with time travel?

William Atkins
Monday, 08 December 2008 19:33

Science - Space

The field of quantum mechanics allows security codes to be sent completely free of being detected and read. However, U.S. scientists say they could break these quantum encryption codes with time travel, specifically, wormholes. That is, if wormholes exist?


Todd A. Brun, with the Department of Electrical Engineering (University of Southern California), Jim Harrington (Applied Modern Physics (Los Alamos National Laboratory), and Mark M. Wilde (Center for Quantum Technologies (National University of Singapore, and USC) wrote the November 7, 2008 paper “Closed timelike curves enable perfect state distinguishability” [arXiv.org, pdf file]

The introduction to their paper states, “The theory of general relativity points to the possible existence of closed timelike curves (CTCs)”

According to Tom Siegfried, the Editor-in-Chief, of Science News magazine (December 6, 2008, page 2), the title of their article is a code in and of itself

Siegfried states that “closed timelike curves” is another term for time travel. In addition, “perfect state distinguishability” is a term used to indicate that the supposedly unbreakable quantum encryption codes can indeed be broken

Siegfried goes on to say that travel at speeds faster than the speed of light with the use of wormholes is theoretically possible, based on German-American theoretical physicist Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity.

Put it all together and Siegfried believes that the Brun-Harrington-Wilde paper suggests that quantum encryption, which normally cannot be distinguished, could be distinguished by transmitting information through a wormhole, where one end is in the present, and the other end is in the future, or past.

Such an ability, if possible and if used, would disrupt the so-far unbreakable security of quantum encryption.

Continue on to page two.