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Does the Peres experiment using photons test for hyper-complex (quaternionic) quantum theories?

Quantum Physics 2017-06-28 v3 High Energy Physics - Phenomenology Mathematical Physics math.MP

Abstract

Assuming the standard axioms for quaternionic quantum theory and a spatially localized scattering interaction, the SS-matrix in quaternionic quantum theory is complex valued, not quaternionic. Using the standard connections between the SS-matrix, the forward scattering amplitude for electromagnetic wave scattering, and the index of refraction, we show that the index of refraction is necessarily complex, not quaternionic. This implies that the recent optical experiment of Procopio et al. based on the Peres proposal does not test for hyper-complex or quaternionic quantum effects arising within the standard Hilbert space framework. Such a test requires looking at near zone fields, not radiation zone fields.

Cite

@article{arxiv.1604.04950,
  title  = {Does the Peres experiment using photons test for hyper-complex (quaternionic) quantum theories?},
  author = {Stephen L. Adler},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1604.04950},
  year   = {2017}
}

Comments

5 pages, v2 updates ref [5] to journal citation

R2 v1 2026-06-22T13:34:21.893Z