No Time Machines from Lightlike Sources in 2+1 Gravity

Abstract

We extend the argument that spacetimes generated by two timelike particles in D=3 gravity (or equivalently by parallel-moving cosmic strings in D=4) permit closed timelike curves (CTC) only at the price of Misner identifications that correspond to unphysical boundary conditions at spatial infinity and to a tachyonic center of mass. Here we analyze geometries one or both of whose sources are lightlike. We make manifest both the presence of CTC at spatial infinity if they are present at all, and the tachyonic character of the system: As the total energy surpasses its tachyonic bound, CTC first begin to form at spatial infinity, then spread to the interior as the energy increases further. We then show that, in contrast, CTC are entirely forbidden in topologically massive gravity for geometries generated by lightlike sources.