Quantum mechanics over real numbers fully reproduces standard quantum theory

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that standard quantum mechanics can be fully reproduced using a real-number framework, challenging the notion that complex numbers are fundamental to quantum theory.

Contribution

The authors develop a rigorous real-valued formulation of quantum mechanics that is mathematically equivalent to the standard complex formulation, refuting previous claims of falsification.

Findings

Real framework reproduces all predictions of standard quantum mechanics.

Standard real tensor product is incompatible with quantum structure.

Maximal CHSH3 violation achieved with real variables, contradicting prior falsification claims.

Abstract

Standard quantum mechanics employs complex Hilbert spaces, but whether complex numbers are fundamental or merely convenient has long been debated. For decades, real-valued equivalents were considered mathematically possible but cumbersome. However, a landmark 2021 result claimed that any quantum theory based on real numbers is experimentally falsifiable via network Bell experiments. Yet, it remains an open question whether this falsification applies to all real-valued theories. Here we show that this conclusion rests on an incomplete real formulation, and we present a rigorous real-valued framework that perfectly reproduces all predictions of standard quantum mechanics, i.e. standard quantum mechanics. We demonstrate that the standard real tensor product ($\otimes_{\mathbb{R}}$) used in previous no-go theorems is algebraically incompatible with the rich structure of standard quantum mechanics. We present a real framework based on \ka space and prove that it is exactly isomorphic to standard quantum mechanics via an explicit bijection $\gamma$. The isomorphism extends to composite systems through a symplectic composition rule $\otimes^{\ks}$ that replaces the Kronecker product. Consequently, our formulation achieves the maximal $\mathrm{CHSH}_{3}$ violation of $6\sqrt{2}$ using purely real variables, directly contradicting previous falsification claims. These results demonstrate that complex numbers are not fundamentally required by nature; rather, they encode a deeper real geometric structure that governs quantum interference and entanglement, settling this long debate.