complex conjugate

(idea) by rangek Sat Aug 05 2000 at 4:55:05

To make a complex conjugate, replace every instance of i with -i.

(thing) by srkorn Wed Aug 16 2000 at 5:01:03
The complex conjugate of a complex number a + bi is a - bi, where i is the square root of negative one. As we learned back in first year algebra, multiplying (x + y) * (x - y) yields x2 - y2, and since bi squared is -b2, (a + bi) * (a - bi) = a2 + b2, a real number. This makes the complex conjugate a useful number.
(thing) by siren Wed Nov 08 2000 at 19:05:52
In matrix notation let A be some matrix. The complex conjugate (c.c.) of A is denoted with a "*" i.e.

c.c.(A) defined A*.

You generate it by replacing each element of the matrix aij with its complex conjugate a*ij

In quantum mechanics wavefunctions can be represented in matrix form. The proabaility of a state is the integral over space of the wavefunction multiplied by its c.c. This gauranties a positive definite value for the probability.

A real number is equal to it's complex conjugate.

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