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arXiv · 2610.03644

Clarifications on the Experimental Status of Real Quantum Theory

Timothée Hoffreumon·Mischa P. Woods
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Abstract

In our previous paper on the matter, we proved that real quantum theory (RQT) cannot be experimentally falsified without the experiment falsifying quantum theory (QT) as well. Our result is in direct contradiction to the central claim of an article by Renou et al., published in Nature [600, 625--629 (2021)], reporting a bilocal network experiment that could falsify real quantum theory without falsifying quantum theory. The purpose of this note is to address several seemingly natural attempts to recover the experimental conclusion of Renou et al. We first explain how these results, although based on nonlocality experiments, are far from a Bell-like level of proof. Then we explain why the proposed experiment requires an experimentally untestable premise about independent preparations necessarily being represented as product states. Finally, we discuss some concerns that lie outside the scope of both results.

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Timothée Hoffreumon, Mischa P. Woods. 2026-10-02. Clarifications on the Experimental Status of Real Quantum Theory. https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.03644

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