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Review

Geometry of Quantum Information Beyond Complex Numbers: A Review from Clifford Algebras, Division Algebras and Hopf Fibrations

by
Johan H. Rúa Muñoz
1,*,† and
Santiago Pineda Montoya
2,*,†
1
Institute of Physics, Faculty of Exact and Natural Sciences, University of Antioquia, Medellín 050010, Colombia
2
Institute of Mathematics, Faculty of Sciences, National University of Colombia, Medellín 050034, Colombia
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
These authors contributed equally to this work.
Symmetry 2026, 18(6), 1024; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym18061024 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 16 April 2026 / Revised: 9 June 2026 / Accepted: 12 June 2026 / Published: 14 June 2026

Abstract

We develop a comparative synthesis of quantum-information geometry beyond complex numbers, with emphasis on what different algebraic frameworks contribute to information-processing structure rather than on their formal novelty alone. The organizing idea is a layer-by-layer test of the standard complex Hilbert-space formalism: each non-complex or deformed framework modifies the scalar field, phase group, projective state space, Born-probability semantics, composition rule, measurement geometry, symmetry algebra or representation category. The central thesis is that such frameworks are physically meaningful when they identify which assumptions make complex quantum mechanics operationally stable: positive probabilities, associative multipartite composition, reversible dynamics, experimentally testable phases, locality constraints, informationally complete measurements, error bases and clear operational semantics. Real quantum theory probes the necessity of complex phases and local tomography; quaternionic quantum mechanics probes non-Abelian phase while retaining associativity and admitting complex embeddings; octonionic proposals probe the boundary where exceptional geometry survives but generic circuit composition is obstructed by non-associativity; Jordan algebras test ordered probabilistic state spaces; Clifford algebras and Bott periodicity provide the spinorial and topological grammar connecting gates, Hopf maps and periodic dimensions; and quantum-group or q-deformed constructions probe coproducts, braiding and representation categories rather than scalar amplitudes. We distinguish three roles that are often conflated: genuine hypercomplex kinematics, Hopf-fibration coordinates for ordinary complex multipartite entanglement, and deformed algebraic or categorical structures. The resulting map separates established equivalence and experimental-constraint results from useful representation tools and speculative programs, while identifying concrete open problems for non-complex quantum information.
Keywords: quantum information geometry; quaternionic quantum mechanics; octonions; Clifford algebras; Hopf fibrations; Bott periodicity; geometric algebra; quantum groups; q-deformations; Yang–Baxter equation; braiding; q-concurrence quantum information geometry; quaternionic quantum mechanics; octonions; Clifford algebras; Hopf fibrations; Bott periodicity; geometric algebra; quantum groups; q-deformations; Yang–Baxter equation; braiding; q-concurrence

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Muñoz, J.H.R.; Montoya, S.P. Geometry of Quantum Information Beyond Complex Numbers: A Review from Clifford Algebras, Division Algebras and Hopf Fibrations. Symmetry 2026, 18, 1024. https://doi.org/10.3390/sym18061024

AMA Style

Muñoz JHR, Montoya SP. Geometry of Quantum Information Beyond Complex Numbers: A Review from Clifford Algebras, Division Algebras and Hopf Fibrations. Symmetry. 2026; 18(6):1024. https://doi.org/10.3390/sym18061024

Chicago/Turabian Style

Muñoz, Johan H. Rúa, and Santiago Pineda Montoya. 2026. "Geometry of Quantum Information Beyond Complex Numbers: A Review from Clifford Algebras, Division Algebras and Hopf Fibrations" Symmetry 18, no. 6: 1024. https://doi.org/10.3390/sym18061024

APA Style

Muñoz, J. H. R., & Montoya, S. P. (2026). Geometry of Quantum Information Beyond Complex Numbers: A Review from Clifford Algebras, Division Algebras and Hopf Fibrations. Symmetry, 18(6), 1024. https://doi.org/10.3390/sym18061024

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