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arXiv:2512.23771 · AIP Advances

Euler-Korteweg vortices: A fluid-mechanical analogue to the Schrödinger and Klein-Gordon equations

D. M. F. Bischoff van Heemskerck

quant-phgr-qcphysics.flu-dynSubmitted Dec 29, 2025• Announced Dec 30, 2025• 0 citations• Revised Jun 4, 2026 (v4)
v1 · Dec 29, 2025v2 · Feb 10, 2026v3 · Feb 23, 2026v4 · Jun 4, 2026
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Abstract

Quantum theory and relativity exhibit several formal analogies with fluid mechanics. This paper extends upon known analogies by showing that under specific assumptions, an Euler-Korteweg vortex model can be cast into equations that are mathematically equivalent to the Schrödinger and Klein-Gordon equations. By assuming that the angular momentum of an irrotational vortex in an inviscid, barotropic, isothermal fluid with sound speed c is equal in magnitude to the reduced Planck constant, and incorporating Korteweg capillary stress, a complex wave equation describing the momentum and continuity equations of an Euler-Korteweg vortex is obtained. When uniform convection is introduced, the weak field approximation of this wave equation is formally equivalent to Schrödinger's equation. The model is shown to yield analogues to de Broglie wavelength, the Einstein-Planck relation, the Born rule and the uncertainty principle. Accounting for the retarded propagation of the wave field of a vortex in convection requires the Lorentz transformation and yields a wave equation mathematically equivalent to the Klein-Gordon equation, with Schrödinger's equation appearing as the low-Mach-number limit.

Comments
Revised phrasing in abstract, results, introduction, discussion and conclusions

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Quantum theory and relativity exhibit several formal analogies with fluid mechanics. This paper extends upon known analogies by showing that under specific assumptions, an Euler-Korteweg vortex model can be cast into equations that are mathematically equivalent to the Schrödinger and Klein-Gordon equations. By assuming that the angular momentum of an irrotational vortex in an inviscid, barotropic, isothermal fluid with sound speed c is equal in magnitude to the reduced Planck constant, and incorporating Korteweg capillary stress, a complex wave equation describing the momentum and continuity equations of an Euler-Korteweg vortex is obtained. When uniform convection is introduced, the weak field approximation of this wave equation is formally equivalent to Schrödinger's equation. The model is shown to yield analogues to de Broglie wavelength, the Einstein-Planck relation, the Born rule and the uncertainty principle. Accounting for the retarded propagation of the wave field of a vortex in convection requires the Lorentz transformation and yields a wave equation mathematically equivalent to the Klein-Gordon equation, with Schrödinger's equation appearing as the low-Mach-number limit.
Quantum theory and relativity exhibit several formal analogies with fluid mechanics. This paper examines under which conditions a classical fluid model may reproduce the simplest formulations of both theories. By identifying the angular momentum of irrotational vortices in an inviscid, barotropic, isothermal fluid with sound speed c with the reduced Planck constant, and incorporating Korteweg capillary stress, a complex wave equation describing the momentum and continuity fields of a vortex is obtained. When uniform convection is introduced, the weak field approximation of this wave equation is equivalent to Schrödinger’s equation. The model is shown to yield classical analogues for de Broglie wavelength, the Einstein–Planck relation, the Born rule and the uncertainty principle. Accounting for the retarded propagation of the wavefield of a vortex in convection yields the Lorentz transformation and the Klein–Gordon equation, with Schrödinger’s equation appearing as the low-Mach-number limit. These results demonstrate that, under explicit assumptions, a classical continuum can reproduce quantum and relativistic theory in their simplest form, without assuming the postulates principal to those theories.
Abstract A formalism of classical mechanics is given for time-dependent many-body states of quantum mechanics, describing both fluid flow and point mass trajectories. The familiar equations of energy, motion, and those of Lagrangian mechanics are obtained. An energy and continuity equation is demonstrated to be equivalent to the real and imaginary parts of the time dependent Schrödinger equation, respectively, where the Schrödinger equation is in density matrix form. For certain stationary states, using Lagrangian mechanics and a Hamiltonian function for quantum mechanics, equations for point-mass trajectories are obtained. For 1-body states and fluid flows, the energy equation and equations of motion are the Bernoulli and Euler equations of fluid mechanics, respectively. Generalizations of the energy and Euler equations are derived to obtain equations that are in the same form as they are in classical mechanics. The fluid flow type is compressible, inviscid, irrotational, with the nonclassical element of local variable mass. Over all space mass is conserved. The variable mass is a necessary condition for the fluid flow to agree with the zero orbital angular momentum for s states of hydrogen. Cross flows are examined, where velocity directions are changed without changing the kinetic energy. For one-electron atoms, the velocity modification gives closed orbits for trajectories, and mass conservation, vortexes, and density stratification for fluid flows. For many body states, under certain conditions, and by hypotheses, Euler equations of orbital-flows are obtained. One-body Schrödinger equations that are a generalization of the Hartree–Fock equations are also obtained. These equations contain a quantum Coulomb’s law, involving the 2-body pair function of reduced density matrix theory that replace the charge densities.
This article proposes a deterministic and geometrically grounded reformulation of quantum mechanics based on vortex dynamics in a structured, superfluid-like vacuum. Modeling the electron as a self-sustaining irrotational vortex with both internal rotation and external translation, the framework derives fundamental quantum phenomena—including de Broglie wavelength, Compton wavelength, spin, and quantization—directly from physical principles of motion and vacuum geometry. A generalized wave function is introduced, embedding both translational and rotational phase components, leading to a modified Schrödinger-like equation that naturally incorporates internal angular momentum. Interference, tunneling, and entanglement are reinterpreted as emergent behaviors of coherent vortex trajectories, eliminating the need for wavefunction collapse or intrinsic randomness. The Born rule is shown to arise from deterministic mechanisms such as phase averaging, internal oscillations, and ergodic dynamics. This vortex model aligns with classical, quantum, and relativistic principles, resolves key interpretational paradoxes, and offers a unified, causal framework for understanding quantum phenomena as structured motion within a physically real vacuum.
We first recall that the system of fluid mechanics equations (Euler and continuity) that describes a fluid in irrotational motion subjected to a generalized quantum potential (depending on a constant which may be different from the standard quantum constant ℏ) is equivalent to a generalized Schrödinger equation for a 'wavefunction' whose modulus squared yields the fluid density. Then we show that even in the case of the presence of vorticity, it is also possible to obtain a nonlinear Schrödinger-like equation (now of the vectorial field type) from the continuity and Euler equations including a quantum potential. The same kind of transformation also applies to a classical charged fluid subjected to an electromagnetic field and to an additional potential having the form of a quantum potential. Such a fluid can therefore be described by an equation of the Ginzburg–Landau type, and is expected to show some superconducting-like properties. Moreover, a Schrödinger form can be obtained for a fluctuating rotational motion of a solid. In this case the mass is replaced by the tensor of inertia, and a generalized form of the quantum potential is derived. We finally reconsider the case of a standard diffusion process, and we show that, after a change of variable, the diffusion equation can also be given the form of a continuity and Euler system including an additional potential energy. Since this potential is exactly the opposite of a quantum potential, the quantum behavior may be considered, in this context, as an anti-diffusion.
Geometric quantum hydrodynamics merges geometric hydrodynamics with quantum hydrodynamics to study the geometric properties of vortex structures in superfluid states of matter. Here the vortex line acts as the fundamental building block and is a topological defect of the fluid medium about which the otherwise irrotational fluid circulates. In this thesis, we show that except for the simplest fluid flows, a vortex line seeks to decompose localized regions of curvature into helical configurations. The simplest flow, known as the local induction approximation, is also an integrable one. Integrability makes the transfer of energy into helical modes impossible. In the following, we demonstrate that any arclength conserving correction to this approximation defines a non-Hamiltonian evolution of the vortex geometry, which is capable of supporting dissipative solitons and helical wavefronts. Quantum turbulence in ultracold vortex tangles relies on energy transfer between helical or Kelvin modes to decay. Thus, models of vortex lines beyond the lowest order integrable cases are vitally important to our mathematical description of free decay of turbulent tangles. To motivate the results of this thesis we connect our theory of vortex line dynamics to continuum fluid mechanics. The Navier-Stokes equations are a statement of momentum balance for a fluid whose response to shear stress is proportional to the fluid's velocity gradients. Building off of Onsager's rather obscure work in fluid turbulence, others have shown that solutions to Navier-Stokes limit to Euler evolutions of distributional velocity profiles for large Reynolds number. Using this as our context, we show that the Euler equation can be transformed, in an inverse Madelung sense, to the Gross-Pitaevskii equation associated with the mean-field quantum dynamics of a dilute Bose gas. This theory predicts that an irrotational fluid is capable of circulating around regions of density depletion known as vortex lines. Furthermore, if a vortex line is used as the ansatz for the Gross-Pitaevskii equation then it is possible to show that the Biot-Savart integral over the vortex source results. This connection between the vortex line geometry and the induced velocity field provides the basis for the application of geometric quantum hydrodynamics to Bose-Einstein condensates. If the Biot-Savart integral is the basis of geometric quantum hydrodynamics, then Hasimoto's transformation is the structure built on top. The fundamental theorem of space curves states that up to rotations and translations, a curve is defined by its curvature and torsion. Through the Hasimoto transformation, it is possible to map flows defined by the Biot-Savart integral to scalar partial differential equations evolving the curvature and torsion of a vortex line. In this thesis, we conduct an asymptotic expansion of the Biot-Savart integral and apply the Hasimoto transformation to show that vortex lines prefer to relax curved abnormalities through the excitation of helical waves along the vortex. Thus, our…
In the framework of Chronodynamic Cosmology (CDC), the vacuum is defined as a physical superfluid (Psi). If this premise is correct, the fundamental equations of Quantum Mechanics must be derivable from Hydrodynamics. In this note, we perform the Madelung Transformation to demonstrate that the Schrödinger Equation is mathematically equivalent to the Euler Equation for an inviscid, compressible fluid subjected to a specific internal pressure potential. This derivation suggests that "Quantum Potential" (Q) is the hydrostatic pressure of the Time-Fluid, and that "Wavefunction Collapse" is a phase transition from an inviscid (superfluid) state to a viscous (classical) state.