This paper concerns a relationship between the kernel of the Bargmann transform and the corresponding canonical transformation. We study this fact for a Bargmann transform introduced by Thomas and Wassell [J. Math. Phys. 36, 5480–5505 (1995)]—when the configuration space is the two-sphere S2 and for a Bargmann transform that we introduce for the three-sphere S3. It is shown that the kernel of the Bargmann transform is a power series in a function which is a generating function of the corresponding canonical transformation (a classical analog of the Bargmann transform). We show in each case that our canonical transformation is a composition of two other canonical transformations involving the complex null quadric in C3 or C4. We also describe quantizations of those two other canonical transformations by dealing with spaces of holomorphic functions on the aforementioned null quadrics. Some of these quantizations have been studied by Bargmann and Todorov [J. Math. Phys. 18, 1141–1148 (1977)] and the other quantizations are related to the work of Guillemin [Integ. Eq. Operator Theory 7, 145–205 (1984)]. Since suitable infinite linear combinations of powers of the generating functions are coherent states for L2(S2) or L2(S3), we show finally that the studied Bargmann transforms are actually coherent states transforms.
Coherent state theory is shown to reproduce three categories of representations of the spectrum generating algebra for an algebraic model: (i) classical realizations which are the starting point for geometric quantization, (ii) induced unitary representations corresponding to prequantization and (iii) irreducible unitary representations obtained in geometric quantization by choice of a polarization. These representations establish an intimate relation between coherent state theory and geometric quantization in the context of induced representations.
This work reformulates quantum mechanics on the real plane
(R2), establishing an algebraic isomorphism to the complex field
(C) and demonstrating that the complex structure inherent to the Schrödinger equation can be fully captured by coupled real-valued dynamics. By constructing a field
(R2,+,⋅) isomorphic to
C, the real counterpart of the Schrödinger equation is derived, yielding a system of coupled real partial differential equations. This system reveals a symplectic structure where the symplectic matrix
J geometrically represents the imaginary unit
i, acting as a phase-space rotation operator. Time-independent solutions decouple into identical real Helmholtz equations, preserving spectral equivalence. The reformulation provides geometric insights into foundational aspects: the geometric representation of
i, the emergence of probability conservation from real-component interactions, and the encoding of quantum phase relationships through the multiplicative structure of the
R2 field. This perspective reinforces connections to classical Hamiltonian mechanics and geometric quantization, suggesting that complex numbers are structural, emerging from field operations on the real plane, rather than fundamental. Furthermore, quantum computation elements like qubits and gates are shown to have equivalent representations as real symplectic and special orthogonal matrices, maintaining unitary equivalence. We introduce a framework for quantum computation within a real vector space and provide a generalized protocol for generating entangled Bell states. These results offer a new perspective on the necessity of complex numbers in quantum theory, providing a framework with potential computational advantages for hybrid quantum-classical systems and enhanced geometric interpretability.
Various Euclidean, hyperbolic and elliptic analytic representations are introduced and relations among them are discussed. The Bargmann analytic representation in the complex plane is considered and its relation to other phase-space methods for the harmonic oscillator is reviewed. The general theory that relates the growth of analytic functions with the density of their zeros is applied to Bargmann functions and it leads to theorems on the completeness of sequences of Glauber coherent states. Two hyperbolic analytic representations in the unit disc, based on SU (1, 1) coherent states and also on phase states are introduced. A third analytic representation in the complex plane based on Barut–Girardello states is also considered and transformations which relate it to the other ones are studied. In the case of systems with finite-dimensional Hilbert space, an elliptic analytic representation in the extended complex plane and also another analytic representation based on theta functions are introduced. The Berezin formalism in the Euclidean, hyperbolic and elliptic cases is discussed. Contour analytic representations in these three cases are also presented.
The necessity of complex numbers in quantum mechanics has long been debated. This paper develops a real Kahler space formulation of quantum mechanics [19], asserting equivalence to the standard complex Hilbert space framework. By mapping the complex Hilbert space
Cn to a real Kahler space
K2n, i.e.
R2n equipped with a metric, a symplectic structure and an automorphism, we establish a correspondence between Hermitian operators in
Cn and real operators in
K2n. While the isomorphism appears straightforward some subtleties emerge: (i) the overcounting of composite system states under tensor products in
R2n, and (ii) the double degeneracy of operator spectra in the real formulation. Through a systematic investigation of these challenges, we clarify the structural relationship between real and complex formulations, resolve ambiguities in composite system representations, and analyze spectral consequences. Our results reaffirm the equivalence of the two frameworks while highlighting nuanced distinctions with implications for foundational debates on locality, phase invariance, and the role of complex numbers in quantum theory.
Recent work by Moshinsky et al. on the role and applications of canonical transformations in quantum mechanics has focused attention on some complex extensions of linear transformations mapping the position and momentum operators x̂ and p̂ to a pair η̂ and ζ̂ of canonically conjugate, but not necessarily Hermitian, operators. In this paper we show that for a continuum of complex linear canonical transformations, a related Hilbert space of entire analytic functions exists with a scalar product over the complex plane such that the pair η̂, ζ̂ can be realized in the Schrödinger representation η and −id/dη. We provide a unitary mapping onto the ordinary Hilbert space of square-integrable functions over the real line through an integral transform. The transform kernels provide a representation of a subsemigroup of SL(2,C). The well-known Bargmann transform is the special case when η̂ and iζ̂ are the harmonic oscillator raising and lowering operators. The Moshinsky-Quesne transform is regained in the limit when the canonical transformation becomes real, a case which contains the ordinary Fourier transform. We present a realization of these transforms through hyperdifferential operators.