Observables and the Field in Quantum Mechanics

Abstract

Corresponding to any irreducible proposition system L in general quantum mechanics there is a division ring D with an anti-automorphism * and a vector space (V, D) over D with a definite sesquilinear form φ such that L is isomorphic to the set of φ closed subspaces of (V, D). The main task remaining in connecting the general quantum mechanics to the conventional quantum theory in a complex Hilbert space is to give physical arguments which force D to be the complex field. In this paper it is shown that if L admits a certain type of observable (together with other structure which seems to be physically justified), then D contains the real field as a subfield. Steps are then indicated that can be taken to move from the reals to the complexes or quaternions.