Physicists Take the Imaginary Numbers Out of Quantum Mechanics
11 days ago
- #physics
- #quantum mechanics
- #complex numbers
- Physicists have historically used imaginary numbers (i) in quantum mechanics, despite their abstract nature.
- Recent research in 2021 suggested that imaginary numbers might be essential to quantum theory, based on empirical tests.
- However, in 2022, new studies showed that quantum mechanics can be reformulated using only real numbers, making i unnecessary.
- Real-valued quantum theories, though more cumbersome, can replicate the predictions of complex-valued quantum mechanics.
- The debate continues on whether complex numbers offer a more natural and elegant framework for quantum theory.
- Quantum computing also demonstrates that complex numbers can be avoided, as shown by eliminating T gates in algorithms.
- The persistence of complex arithmetic in real-valued theories suggests that imaginary numbers may still have an underlying role.
- Philosophers and physicists question why quantum mechanics remains tied to its original complex formulation after a century.