Toward an octonionic world (Q1303407)

Octonionic quantum mechanics is promoted as a generalization of quaternionic and complex quantum mechanics. After some introductory and motivating remarks, the octonion algebra and its representation via left and right barred operators is explained in detail. Left or right (barred) operators are represented via \(8\times 8\)-matrices acting on the linear space underlying the octonions. However, the octonionic multiplication is not mapped onto the matrix multiplication due to non-associativity. The authors develop, using translation tables, the rules to deal with the octonion product and show where naive application fails. Octonionic counterparts of Dirac gamma matrices are given for Dirac-, Majorana-, and chiral-representations. These gammas are used to formulate an octonionic Dirac equation. Since completeness relations of the basis spinors look different, having however the same trace, QED calculations may differ in the octonionic formulation from conventional complex quantum field theory. The authors follow \textit{S. Adler} [Phys. Lett., B 358, 332 ff. (1994)] claiming that physics is modelled towards smaller scales from reals over complex and quaternion numbers to octonions.