Any leap in quantum computing multiplies the potential of a technology capable of performing calculations and simulations that are beyond the scope of current computers while facilitating the study of phenomena that have been only theoretical to date.
Last year, a group of researchers put forward the idea in the journal Nature that an alternative to quantum theory based on real numbers can be experimentally falsified. The original proposal was a challenge that has been taken up by the leading scientist in the field, Jian-Wei Pan, with the participation of physicist Adán Cabello, from the University of Seville. Their combined research has demonstrated “the indispensable role of complex numbers [square root of minus one, for example] in standard quantum mechanics.” The results allow progress to be made in the development of computers that use this technology and, according to Cabello, “to test quantum physics in regions that have previously been inaccessible.”
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