Physicists have shown that quantum mechanics can be formulated using only real numbers, challenging a long-held assumption that complex numbers are essential.
Researchers at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf and the German Aerospace Center published their findings in Physical Review Letters. They examined the assumptions of a 2021 study and replaced one restrictive postulate with a different approach for combining quantum systems.
This led to a family of theories that match the predictions of standard quantum mechanics but rely solely on real numbers. The American Physical Society highlighted the work in its Physics Magazine.
Professor Dr Dagmar Bruß said the frameworks yield identical predictions for any experiment, meaning imaginary numbers are not fundamentally necessary.