Complex Numbers and Variables

Learn about the complex numbers in quantum mechanics and their vital role in state representations and measurements.

In this chapter, we will introduce one aspect of quantum mechanics that we have purposely avoided up to now: the use of complex numbers and variables. Standard quantum mechanics starts off by postulating that state vector amplitudes are complex numbers. Those complex numbers are necessary to be able to describe the full range of quantum phenomena. However, as we have seen, a large part of QIS and QC can be understood without complex numbers.

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