Quantum mechanics based on real numbers: A consistent description
Abstract
Complex numbers play a crucial role in quantum mechanics. However, their necessity remains debated: whether they are fundamental or merely convenient. Recently, it was claimed that quantum mechanics based on real numbers can be experimentally falsified in the sense that any real-number formulation of quantum mechanics either becomes inconsistent with multipartite experiments or violates certain postulates. In this article we show that a physically motivated postulate about composite quantum systems allows to construct quantum mechanics based on real numbers that reproduces predictions for all multipartite quantum experiments. Thus, we argue that real-valued quantum mechanics cannot be falsified, and therefore the use of complex numbers is a matter of convenience.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2503.17307,
title = {Quantum mechanics based on real numbers: A consistent description},
author = {Pedro Barrios Hita and Anton Trushechkin and Hermann Kampermann and Michael Epping and Dagmar Bruß},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2503.17307},
year = {2025}
}
Comments
23 pages, 6 figures