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arXiv:2209.10038

Quantum Fluid Dynamics on the Hypersphere

Stuart B. Heinrich

Published Sep 20, 2022• 0 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

It is known from quantum mechanics that particles are associated with wave functions, and that the probability of observing a particle at some future location is proportional to the squared modulus of the amplitude of its wave function. Although this statistical relationship is well quantified, the interpretations have remained controversial, with many split between the classical Copenhagen interpretation and some variation of the de Broglie-Bohm pilot wave models. Recent experiments with Hydrodynamic Quantum Analogs (HQAs) have demonstrated that droplets of real fluid may achieve stable dynamical states, where interaction of the droplets with their own ripples results in motion analogous to the motion of particles subject to the guiding equation under the pilot wave models. Indeed, many effects previously thought to be exclusively quantum have now been observed as emergent phenomena in these macroscopic HQAs. This has motivated us to explore the possibility that quantum mechanics may actually be the result of fluid dynamics on some real quantum scale fluid. In this paper, we show that if there is a real quantum scale fluid having dynamics analogous to the fluid in HQAs, then this fluid must be a superfluid, and the dynamics of that fluid must take place on the surface of a 4-dimensional hypersphere. Under the influence of cosmological inflation, we further show that these bouncing droplets would have the illusion of a property analogous to rest mass, and that the principles of inertia, momentum, mass-energy equivalence, general relativity, the uncertainty principle and the appearance of a time-like dimension can all be derived for droplets as purely emergent phenomena from the fluid dynamics of this system. As such, we believe that this model merits consideration as a potential foundation for a new unifying theory of physics at all scales.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.2209.10038

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It is known from quantum mechanics that particles are associated with wave functions, and that the probability of observing a particle at some future location is proportional to the squared modulus of the amplitude of its wave function. Although this statistical relationship is well quantified, the interpretations have remained controversial, with many split between the classical Copenhagen interpretation and some variation of the de Broglie-Bohm pilot wave models. Recent experiments with Hydrodynamic Quantum Analogs (HQAs) have demonstrated that droplets of real fluid may achieve stable dynamical states, where interaction of the droplets with their own ripples results in motion analogous to the motion of particles subject to the guiding equation under the pilot wave models. Indeed, many effects previously thought to be exclusively quantum have now been observed as emergent phenomena in these macroscopic HQAs. This has motivated us to explore the possibility that quantum mechanics may actually be the result of fluid dynamics on some real quantum scale fluid. In this paper, we show that if there is a real quantum scale fluid having dynamics analogous to the fluid in HQAs, then this fluid must be a superfluid, and the dynamics of that fluid must take place on the surface of a 4-dimensional hypersphere. Under the influence of cosmological inflation, we further show that these bouncing droplets would have the illusion of a property analogous to rest mass, and that the principles of inertia, momentum, mass-energy equivalence, general relativity, the uncertainty principle and the appearance of a time-like dimension can all be derived for droplets as purely emergent phenomena from the fluid dynamics of this system. As such, we believe that this model merits consideration as a potential foundation for a new unifying theory of physics at all scales.
We describe a series of experimental analogies between fluid mechanics and quantum mechanics recently discovered by a team of physicists. These analogies arise in droplet systems guided by a surface (or pilot) wave. We argue that these experimental facts put ancient theoretical work by Madelung on the analogy between fluid and quantum mechanics into new light. After re-deriving Madelung’s result starting from two basic fluid mechanical equations (the Navier–Stokes equation and the continuity equation), we discuss the relation with the de Broglie–Bohm theory. This allows to make a direct link with the droplet experiments. It is argued that the fluid mechanical interpretation of quantum mechanics, if it can be extended to the general N-particle case, would have a considerable advantage over the Bohm interpretation: it could rid Bohm’s theory of its non-local character.
Recent experiments on walking droplets suggest an underlying connection between fluid dynamics and the quantum mechanics. Such experiments may be used to support the de Broglie-Bohm pilot-wave theory. In this paper we show that many quantum-like features of hydrodynamic excitations can be explained in the framework of the parametrically driven nonlinear Schrödinger equation (DNLSE). It is shown that the nonlinear Schrödinger equation (NLSE) describes the pseudoquantum features of a given pseudoparticle in the Sagdeev pseudopotential just as the ordinary linear Schrödinger equation (LSE) describes the quantum nature of real particles. The NLSE is shown to reduce to nonlinear Hamilton-Jacobi equation (NHJE) for the phase function of the complex wavefunction. The origin of the wave-particle dual-character in both LSE and NLSE is explained and basic similarities between the two models is highlighted. It is shown that many more pseudoquantum effects (yet to be explored) such as pseudoentanglement, self-interference effect and quantization of pseudoparticle energy are inherent features of classical fluids. Current investigation suggests that emergence of the quantum nature of fluids is independent from dynamics of the bouncing droplets or their interactions with the surface waves instantaneously created by them. In contrast to previous suggestions, it is remarked that intrinsically nonlinear collective excitations of a fluid can drive any particle even a pseudoparticle to behave quantum mechanically. These collective interactions in hydrodynamic model confirm the important nonlocal character (which is a key aspect of the de Broglie-Bohm pilot-wave theory) of all the pseudoquantum phenomena. The recent hydrodynamic quantum analog experiments and extensive new theoretical models may hopefully enable physicists to unlock the decade long hidden mystery of the quantum weirdness.
Yves Couder, Emmanuel Fort, and coworkers recently discovered that a millimetric droplet sustained on the surface of a vibrating fluid bath may self-propel through a resonant interaction with its own wave field. This article reviews experimental evidence indicating that the walking droplets exhibit certain features previously thought to be exclusive to the microscopic, quantum realm. It then reviews theoretical descriptions of this hydrodynamic pilot-wave system that yield insight into the origins of its quantum-like behavior. Quantization arises from the dynamic constraint imposed on the droplet by its pilot-wave field, and multimodal statistics appear to be a feature of chaotic pilot-wave dynamics. I attempt to assess the potential and limitations of this hydrodynamic system as a quantum analog. This fluid system is compared to quantum pilot-wave theories, shown to be markedly different from Bohmian mechanics and more closely related to de Broglie's original conception of quantum dynamics, his double-solution theory, and its relatively recent extensions through researchers in stochastic electrodynamics.
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The walking droplet system discovered by Yves Couder and Emmanuel Fort presents an example of a vibrating particle self-propelling through a resonant interaction with its own wave field. It provides a means of visualizing a particle as an excitation of a field, a common notion in quantum field theory. Moreover, it represents the first macroscopic realization of a form of dynamics proposed for quantum particles by Louis de Broglie in the 1920s. The fact that this hydrodynamic pilot-wave system exhibits many features typically associated with the microscopic, quantum realm raises a number of intriguing questions. At a minimum, it extends the range of classical systems to include quantum-like statistics in a number of settings. A more optimistic stance is that it suggests the manner in which quantum mechanics might be completed through a theoretical description of particle trajectories. We here review the experimental studies of the walker system, and the hierarchy of theoretical models developed to rationalize its behavior. Particular attention is given to enumerating the dynamical mechanisms responsible for the emergence of robust, structured statistical behavior. Another focus is demonstrating how the temporal nonlocality of the droplet dynamics, as results from the persistence of its pilot wave field, may give rise to behavior that appears to be spatially nonlocal. Finally, we describe recent explorations of a generalized theoretical framework that provides a mathematical bridge between the hydrodynamic pilot-wave system and various realist models of quantum dynamics.
This paper develops a hydrodynamic derivation of nonrelativistic quantum mechanics within the Hydrodynamic Quantum Gravity (HQG) programme. Using the Madelung transformation, the Schrödinger equation is written in amplitude–phase form and shown to be exactly equivalent to (i) a continuity equation for a conserved density and (ii) an Euler-type momentum equation augmented by the “quantum potential” term. In this interpretation, the quantum potential is treated as an effective dispersive stress associated with structured vacuum dynamics, rather than as a purely formal mathematical artefact. The paper reviews how standard quantum features appear naturally in the hydrodynamic variables: interference and diffraction as phase-driven flow, stationary states as time-harmonic solutions, and quantisation as a consequence of single-valued phase (circulation) constraints. It also discusses how pilot-wave style dynamics can be expressed in this language, and surveys laboratory analogues (including walking-droplet experiments) as phenomenological motivation and intuition-building, without claiming identity between the analogue systems and the quantum vacuum. Interpretation note: “Superfluid/condensate” language is used here as an effective mathematical/analogue description of vacuum behaviour; the paper does not assert a material substrate or an operationally accessible preferred rest frame. This paper is part of a series. Companion preprints develop the gravitational and electromagnetic components of the HQG framework and discuss additional open problems and testable predictions. Discussion and feedback: https://github.com/Gptham123456/Hydrodynamic-Quantum-Gravity/discussions