Hydrodynamic Quantum Field Theory Analogs
By Vishal Nandakumar, Pranav Panicker, Kai Wang
We explore the hydrodynamic quantum field theory, a model of quantum dynamics inspired by Louis de Broglie’s double-solution pilot wave theory and informed by the hydrodynamic pilot-wave system discovered by Couder and Fort in 2005. de Broglie originally proposed that every quantum particle contains an internal oscillation at the Compton frequency, exchanging its rest mass energy with its pilot wave field energy. de Broglie postulated that this pilot wave would satisfy the Klein-Gordon equation and Dagan and Bush have extended this theory by modeling the particle’s oscillations as localized disturbances to the scalar pilot wave field. We start by physically modeling the superwalking droplets and the pilot wave theory in a silicone oil bath. We extend the two-dimensional form of the hydrodynamic pilot wave to three dimensions by exploring the free particle, the harmonic oscillators, and other quantum analogs. We also explore the possible link between the non-Markovian dynamics of the physical pilot wave system and nonlocality in quantum systems.