with componentwise addition and multiplication. Equivalently, introduce an independent imaginary unit ( \mathbfj ) (where ( \mathbfj^2 = -1 ), commuting with ( i )), and write:

Any bicomplex Banach space ( X ) is isomorphic (as a real Banach space) to ( X_1 \oplus X_2 ), where ( X_1, X_2 ) are complex Banach spaces, and bicomplex scalars act by: [ (z_1 + z_2 \mathbfj) (x_1 \mathbfe_1 + x_2 \mathbfe_2) = (z_1 - i z_2) x_1 \mathbfe_1 + (z_1 + i z_2) x_2 \mathbfe_2. ]

[ \mathbbBC = z_1 + z_2 \mathbfj \mid z_1, z_2 \in \mathbbC ]