https://hackerpaper.kaipfister.de/p/1501.07502/Collected HN comments and submissions linking this paper.enMon, 02 Nov 2026 11:16:22 GMThttps://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24608333urn:hackerpapers:mention:1501.07502:24608333Sun, 27 Sep 2020 17:26:25 GMT<p>(I’ve also been wondering for a few years whether it is possible to make a version of quantum mechanics which works with the wavefunctions taking on values from a (very large) finite field instead of the complex numbers. My impression so far is “probably not” because you need exponentials, and the multiplication group of a finite field doesn’t have a nontrivial group homomorphism to/from the additive group. Also, for the simple way of defining differentiation for functions over finite fields, has 0 as the only eigenvalue of differentiation, and I’m thinking that the other definition I made up…</p><p><a href="https://hackerpaper.kaipfister.de/p/1501.07502/">Paper and discussion history</a>. A mention is not an endorsement.</p>math.NT