A major breakthrough in basic research, imaginary numbers (i² =-1) are not "imaginary", but have great significance in reality. This is the first discovery of mankind, and the study was completed by a team led by Pan Jianwei, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and vice president of the University of Science and Technology of China.
Definition of imaginary numbers: In mathematics , a number whose even exponential power ( i² ) is a negative number is defined as a pure imaginary number , i² = -1. All imaginary numbers are complex. Judging from the English name imaginary number, it literally means an imaginary number. Some basic understanding of imaginary and complex numbers, as shown in the figure.
The research of Pan Jianwei, Lu Chaoyang and Zhu Xiaobo of the University of Science and Technology of China and Professor Cabello of the University of Seville in Spain used ultra-high precision superconducting quantum circuits to achieve deterministic entanglement exchange, which established the objective reality of complex numbers with experimental accuracy of more than 43 standard deviations, and proved that real numbers cannot fully describe standard quantum mechanics. For a long time, complex numbers in classical physics often only play a computational role as a mathematical tool, but the emergence of quantum mechanics makes complex numbers gradually show their inevitability, whether quantum physics must use complex numbers is a long-term fundamental problem, experiments have proved that complex numbers are not subjective but can be detected by experiments of physical reality, so in quantum mechanics must use complex numbers, and complex numbers have their related major physical significance. The study was published in The Physical Review Letters, and Physics and Nature invited international experts to write commentary articles for it.
This basic research shows that the imaginary number is not false, and it may have great inspiration and significance for basic physics (I don't know how many Nobel Prizes will be born on this basis in the future). This has to start with the Schrödinger equation. The Schrödinger equation, also known as the Schrödinger wave equation, is a basic equation in quantum mechanics proposed by the Austrian physicist Schrödinger, and a basic assumption of quantum mechanics, which is the core equation that describes the quantum mechanical system. It is a second-order partial differential equation established by combining the concept of material waves and the wave equation, which can describe the motion of microscopic particles, each microscopic system has a corresponding Schrödinger equation, and the specific form of the wave function and the corresponding energy can be obtained by solving the equation, so as to understand the properties of the microscopic system.
The function in this equation is called the wave function (as shown in the figure), which can be understood as a probability density. The imaginary number i in the equation is generally considered to have no physical significance, but in quantum mechanics, the introduction of imaginary i, is a mathematical skill, it is used as a tool, and in the physical measurement of the physical quantity measured by the experiment according to the previous understanding, should be a real number, in the process of calculation, as long as it is given is a physical quantity that can be measured by the experimental instrument, such as mass, energy, charge, wavelength, etc., must be a real number, if the result is an imaginary number, previously thought that it must be miscalculated. In mathematical terms , in quantum mechanics , this is called Ermitian Matrix ( Hermitian Matrix , also translated " Hermitian Matrix " , or " Ermi Matrix " , refers to a self-conjugated matrix , in which each element of column j of row i is equal to the conjugate of the elements of column i of row j. The elements on the main diagonal of Hermitian matrix are real numbers, and their eigenvalues are also real numbers. Real symmetric matrices are a special form of Hermitian Matirces, so the eigenvalues of real symmetric matrices are real). All observable and detectable quantities must be Hermitian, so the wave function cannot be measured, but the absolute value of the wave function (i.e., the "modulo") can be measured.
If imaginary numbers are really just a computational tool, can we describe quantum mechanics without imaginary numbers, but only as real numbers? Theoretically, it makes sense, but it may just be more formally more complex. Then Pan Jianwei's team started from this idea, established a set of methods that only use real numbers to represent quantum mechanics, and then used experimental measurements to see if it was complete and completely equivalent to the original set of classical quantum mechanics methods that introduced imaginary numbers. If the two are perfectly equivalent, then it proves that the imaginary number is just a calculation tool and has no other meaning. If it is not equivalent, then it is necessary to seriously consider that imaginary numbers may not only be a mathematical tool, but have the practical significance of physical existence.
After the results of the experiment came out, there was a difference of more than 43 standard deviations between the two, in general, more than 5 standard deviations is certain, more than 43 standard deviations indicate that this is not a real hammer, this is a hammer.
Therefore, the imaginary number is not imaginary at all, it has very real physical significance. Well, this door has been opened, and the rest, let's rely on all the gods to rush into the door!
If imaginary numbers have realistic physical significance, then is there really a spectrum for the fast son (not chopsticks, not chopstick brothers)? The so-called fast son, of course, runs very fast, how fast? Is it faster than the speed of light? Therefore, tachyons generally refer to faster-than-light particles. According to the theory of relativity, objects with mass cannot exceed the speed of light, because beyond the speed of light, the mass becomes an imaginary number. The hypothesis of the tachyon is that the general mass particle cannot exceed the speed of light because it accelerates from 0 and goes through a process of infinite energy, and because the energy cannot be infinite, ordinary particles cannot exceed the speed of light. But the tachyon is different, it is assumed that the initial speed is beyond the speed of light. Further studies of special relativity found that tachyons that were originally faster than the speed of light did not violate the theory of relativity.
It is worth noting that not only the quantum communication encryption technology is from academician Pan's team, but also the quantum computers such as Mozi and Jiuzhang, which are also their achievements, and now there is a new breakthrough, which may mean that a world that was once unobceivable and unimaginable is slowly unfolding to mankind.
Some netizens excitedly said: Although I don't understand it, I like it!
Pay attention to me, pay attention to "Kun Yu Jisheng", pay attention to the popular science and life information of literature and history, and discover a different and interesting world***
#Physics ##Math##Popular Science ##I'm Going to Science ##Science Popularization##Science Popularization##Science Popularization#####科技圈大小事# #
