Testing the necessity of complex numbers in traditional quantum theory with quantum computers

TL;DR

This paper recreates an experiment on the necessity of complex numbers in quantum theory using IBM quantum computers, showing that certain devices can test and potentially falsify real-valued quantum models, thus exploring foundational questions.

Contribution

It demonstrates the feasibility of using accessible quantum computers to experimentally test the role of complex numbers in quantum mechanics, including a real-valued quantum theory construction.

Findings

Real-valued quantum theory predicts identical correlations to complex quantum theory in some Bell tests.

Certain quantum devices with low error rates can falsify real-valued quantum models for composite states.

Results align with previous experiments, validating the approach for foundational quantum research.

Abstract

A recent experiment testing the necessity of complex numbers in the standard formulation of quantum theory is recreated using IBM quantum computers. To motivate the experiment, we present a basic construction for real-valued quantum theory. The real-valued description is shown to predict correlations identical to those of complex-valued quantum mechanics for two types of Bell tests based on the Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt (CHSH) inequality. A slight modification to one test, however, results in different predictions for the real- and complex-valued constructions. While noisier devices are incapable of delivering convincing results, it is shown that certain devices possess sufficiently small error rates to falsify real-valued formulations of quantum theory for composite states. The results obtained with quantum computers are consistent with published experiments. This work demonstrates the feasibility of using freely-available quantum devices to explore foundational features of quantum mechanics with minimal technical expertise. Accordingly, this treatment could inspire novel projects for undergraduate students taking a course on quantum mechanics.