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{{merge|De Broglie–Bohm theory|date=July 2016|discuss=Talk:Pilot wave#Disagrees with main article}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2016}}
[[File:ExperimentCouder-Young.png|thumbnail|220px|Couder experiments,<ref name=Couder>
{{cite journal
|last1=Couder |first1=Y.
|last2=Boudaoud |first2=A.
|last3=Protière |first3=S.
|last4=Moukhtar |first4=J.
|last5=Fort |first5=E.
|year=2010
|title=Walking droplets: a form of wave–particle duality at macroscopic level?
|url=http://www.df.uba.ar/users/dasso/fis4_2do_cuat_2010/walker.pdf
|journal=[[Europhysics News]]
|volume=41 |issue=1 |pages=14–18
|bibcode=2010ENews..41...14C
|doi=10.1051/epn/2010101
}}</ref><ref name="droplets">
{{cite AV media
|date=13 July 2011
|title=How Does The Universe Work?
|chapter=Yves Couder experiments explains Wave/Particle Duality via silicon droplets
|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9yWv5dqSKk
|work=[[Through the Wormhole]]
|at=Season 2, Episode 6, 15min 23s
}}</ref> "materializing" the ''pilot wave'' model.]]
In [[theoretical physics]], the '''pilot wave theory''', also known as '''Bohmian mechanics''', was the first known example of a [[hidden variable theory]], presented by [[Louis de Broglie]] in 1927.
Its more modern version, the '''[[de Broglie–Bohm theory]]''', interprets [[quantum mechanics]] as a [[deterministic]] theory, avoiding troublesome notions such as [[wave–particle duality]], instantaneous [[wave function collapse]] and the paradox of [[Schrödinger's cat]] but introducing [[Quantum_nonlocality|nonlocality]].

The de Broglie–Bohm pilot wave theory is one of several equally valid [[interpretations of quantum mechanics|interpretations]] of (non-relativistic) quantum mechanics.
An extension to the [[De Broglie–Bohm theory#Relativity|relativistic case]] has been developed since the 1990s.<ref> {{Cite journal|arxiv=quant-ph/0208185|last1= Nikolic|first1= H.|title= Bohmian particle trajectories in relativistic bosonic quantum field theory|journal= Foundations of Physics Letters|volume= 17|issue= 4|pages= 363–380|year= 2002|doi= 10.1023/B:FOPL.0000035670.31755.0a|bibcode= 2004FoPhL..17..363N}},
{{Cite journal|arxiv=quant-ph/0302152|last1= Nikolic|first1= H.|title= Bohmian particle trajectories in relativistic fermionic quantum field theory|journal= Foundations of Physics Letters|volume= 18|issue= 2|pages= 123–138|year= 2003|doi= 10.1007/s10702-005-3957-3|bibcode= 2005FoPhL..18..123N}}
{{cite journal | last1 = Dürr | first1 = D. | last2 = Goldstein | first2 = S. | last3 = Münch-Berndl | first3 = K. | last4 = Zanghì | first4 = N. | year = 1999 | title = Hypersurface Bohm–Dirac Models | journal = Physical Review A | volume = 60 | issue = 4| pages = 2729–2736 | doi=10.1103/physreva.60.2729|arxiv = quant-ph/9801070 |bibcode = 1999PhRvA..60.2729D }}
{{cite journal | last1 = Dürr | first1 = Detlef | last2 = Goldstein | first2 = Sheldon | last3 = Norsen | first3 = Travis | last4 = Struyve | first4 = Ward | last5 = Zanghì | first5 = Nino | year = 2013 | title = Can Bohmian mechanics be made relativistic? | url = http://rspa.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/470/2162/20130699.short | journal = Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences| volume = 470| issue = 2162| pages = 20130699| doi = 10.1098/rspa.2013.0699 | arxiv = 1307.1714 | bibcode = 2013RSPSA.47030699D }}</ref>

==History==
In his 1926 paper,<ref>
{{cite journal
|last=Born |first=M.
|year=1926
|title=Quantenmechanik der Stoßvorgänge
|journal=Zeitschrift für Physik
|volume=38 |issue=11–12 |pages=803–827
|bibcode=1926ZPhy...38..803B
|doi=10.1007/BF01397184
}}</ref> [[Max Born]] suggested that the wave function of Schrödinger's wave equation represents the probability density of finding a particle. From this idea, [[Louis de Broglie|de Broglie]] developed the pilot wave theory, and worked out a function for the guiding wave.<ref>
{{cite journal
|last=de Broglie |first=L.
|year=1927
|title=La mécanique ondulatoire et la structure atomique de la matière et du rayonnement
|journal=[[Journal de Physique et le Radium]]
|volume=8 |issue=5 |pages=225–241
|bibcode= 1927JPhRa...8..225D
|doi=10.1051/jphysrad:0192700805022500
}}</ref> Initially, de Broglie proposed a ''[[de Broglie's Double Solution Theory|double solution]]'' approach, in which the quantum object consists of a physical wave (''u''-wave) in real space which has a spherical singular region that gives rise to particle-like behaviour; in this initial form of his theory he did not have to postulate the existence of a quantum particle.<ref name="dewdney-et-al-1992">
{{cite journal
|last1=Dewdney |first1=C.
|last2=Horton |first2=G.
|last3=Lam |first3=M. M.
|last4=Malik |first4=Z.
|last5=Schmidt |first5=M.
|year=1992
|title=Wave–particle dualism and the interpretation of quantum mechanics
|journal=[[Foundations of Physics]]
|volume=22 |issue=10 |pages=1217–1265
|bibcode=1992FoPh...22.1217D
|doi=10.1007/BF01889712
}}</ref>
He later formulated it as a theory in which a particle is accompanied by a pilot wave. He presented the pilot wave theory at the 1927 Solvay Conference.<ref>
{{cite book
|author=Institut International de Physique Solvay
|year=1928
|title=Electrons et Photons: Rapports et Discussions du Cinquième Conseil de Physique tenu à Bruxelles du 24 au 29 Octobre 1927
|publisher=[[Gauthier-Villars]]
}}</ref>
However, [[Wolfgang Pauli]] raised an objection to it at the conference, saying that it did not deal properly with the case of [[inelastic scattering]]. De Broglie was not able to find a response to this objection, and he and Born abandoned the pilot-wave approach. Unlike [[David Bohm]] years later, de Broglie did not complete his theory to encompass the many-particle case.<ref name="dewdney-et-al-1992"/>
The many-particle case shows mathematically that the energy dissipation in inelastic scattering could be distributed to the surrounding field structure by a yet-unknown mechanism of the theory of hidden variables.{{huh|date=May 2017}}

In 1932, [[John von Neumann]] published a book, part of which claimed to prove that all hidden variable theories were impossible.<ref>
{{cite book
|last1=von Neumann |first1=J.
|year=1932
|title=Mathematische Grundlagen der Quantenmechanik
|publisher=[[Springer (publisher)|Springer]]
}}</ref> This result was found to be flawed by [[Grete Hermann]] three years later, though this went unnoticed by the physics community for over fifty years{{cn|date=November 2017}}.

In 1952, [[David Bohm]], dissatisfied with the prevailing orthodoxy, rediscovered de Broglie's pilot wave theory. Bohm developed pilot wave theory into what is now called the [[de Broglie–Bohm theory]].<ref name=Bohm1952a>
{{cite journal
|last1=Bohm |first1=D.
|year=1952
|title=A suggested Interpretation of the Quantum Theory in Terms of Hidden Variables, I
|journal=[[Physical Review]]
|volume=85 |issue=2 |pages=166–179
|bibcode=1952PhRv...85..166B
|doi=10.1103/PhysRev.85.166
}}</ref><ref name=Bohm1952b>
{{cite journal
|last1=Bohm |first1=D.
|year=1952
|title=A suggested Interpretation of the Quantum Theory in Terms of Hidden Variables, II
|journal=[[Physical Review]]
|volume=85 |issue=2 |pages=180–193
|bibcode=1952PhRv...85..180B
|doi=10.1103/PhysRev.85.180
}}</ref>
The de Broglie–Bohm theory itself might have gone unnoticed by most physicists, if it had not been championed by [[John Stewart Bell|John Bell]], who also countered the objections to it. In 1987, John Bell<ref>
{{cite book
|last1=Bell |first1=J. S.
|year=1987
|title=Speakable and Unspeakable in Quantum Mechanics
|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]
|isbn=978-0521334952
}}</ref> rediscovered Grete Hermann's work, and thus showed the physics community that Pauli's and von Neumann's objections "only" showed that the pilot wave theory did not have [[Principle of locality|locality]].

Yves Couder and co-workers in 2010 discovered a macroscopic pilot wave system in the form of ''walking droplets''. This system exhibits behaviour of a pilot wave, heretofore considered to be reserved to microscopic phenomena.<ref name=Couder/>

==The pilot wave theory==

===Principles===
[[File:A pilot-wave walker in a circular corral.png|thumb|286x286px|right|(a) A walker in a circular corral. Trajectories of increasing length are colour-coded according to the droplet’s local speed (b) The probability distribution of the walker’s position corresponds roughly to the amplitude of the corral’s Faraday wave mode.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Harris|first1=Daniel M.|last2=Bush|first2=John W. M.|title=The pilot-wave dynamics of walking droplets|journal=Physics of Fluids|date=2013|volume=25|issue=9|pages=091112|doi=10.1063/1.4820128|url=https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/5659/d7cee01a8e55930b6895b11702705bb013fc.pdf|accessdate=27 November 2016|bibcode=2013PhFl...25i1112H}}</ref>]]
The pilot wave theory is a [[hidden variable theory]]. Consequently:
* the theory has realism (meaning that its concepts exist independently of the observer);
* the theory has [[determinism]].

The positions and momenta of the particles are considered to be the hidden variables.
The observer not only doesn't know the precise value of these variables, but more importantly, cannot know them precisely because any measurement disturbs them.

A collection of particles has an associated matter wave, which evolves according to the [[Schrödinger equation]]. Each particle follows a deterministic trajectory, which is guided by the wave function; collectively, the density of the particles conforms to the magnitude of the wave function. The wave function is not influenced by the particle and can exist also as an [[#Empty wave function|empty wave function]].<ref name="bell-1992">
{{cite journal
|last=Bell |first=J. S.
|year=1992
|title=Six possible worlds of quantum mechanics
|journal=[[Foundations of Physics]]
|volume=22 |issue=10 |pages=1201–1215
|bibcode=1992FoPh...22.1201B
|doi=10.1007/BF01889711
}}</ref>

The theory brings to light [[Quantum nonlocality|nonlocality]] that is implicit in the non-relativistic formulation of quantum mechanics and uses it to satisfy [[Bell's theorem]].
These nonlocal effects can be shown to be compatible with the [[no-communication theorem]], which prevents use of them for faster-than-light communication, and so is empirically compatible with relativity.{{cn|date=May 2017}}

==Mathematical foundations==
To derive the de Broglie–Bohm pilot-wave for an electron, the quantum Lagrangian

:<math>L(t)={\frac{1}{2}}mv^2-(V+Q),</math>

where <math>V</math> is the potential energy, <math>v</math> is the velocity and <math>Q</math> is the potential associated with the quantum force (the particle being pushed by the wave function), is integrated along precisely one path (the one the electron actually follows). This leads to the following formula for the Bohm propagator{{Citation needed|date=July 2016}}:

:<math>K^Q(X_1, t_1; X_0, t_0) = \frac{1}{J(t)^ {\frac{1}{2}} } \exp\left[\frac{i}{\hbar}\int_{t_0}^{t_1}L(t)\,dt\right].</math>

This propagator allows to track the electron precisely over time under the influence of the quantum potential <math>Q</math>.

===Derivation of the Schrödinger equation===

Pilot Wave theory is based on [[Hamilton–Jacobi equation|Hamilton–Jacobi dynamics]]<ref>
{{cite web
|last=Towler |first=M.
|date=10 February 2009
|title=De Broglie-Bohm pilot-wave theory and the foundations of quantum mechanics
|url=http://www.tcm.phy.cam.ac.uk/~mdt26/pilot_waves.html
|publisher=[[University of Cambridge]]
|accessdate=2014-07-03
}}</ref> rather than [[Lagrangian mechanics|Lagrangian]] or [[Hamiltonian dynamics]]. Using the Hamilton–Jacobi equation

:<math>H\left(\mathbf{q},{\partial S \over \partial \mathbf{q}},t\right) + {\partial S \over \partial t}\left(\mathbf{q},t\right) = 0</math>

it is possible to derive the [[Schrödinger equation]]:

Consider a classical particle – the position of which is not known with certainty. We must deal with it statistically, so only the probability density <math>\rho (x,t)</math> is known. Probability must be conserved, i.e. <math>\int\rho\,d^3x = 1</math> for each <math>t</math>. Therefore, it must satisfy the continuity equation

:<math>\partial \rho / \partial t = - \nabla \cdot (\rho v) \quad(1)</math>

where <math>v(x,t)</math> is the velocity of the particle.

In the Hamilton–Jacobi formulation of [[classical mechanics]], velocity is given by <math>v(x,t) = \frac{\nabla S(x,t)}{m}</math> where <math>S(x,t)</math> is a solution of the Hamilton-Jacobi equation

:<math>- \frac{\partial S}{\partial t} = \frac{\left(\nabla S\right)^2}{2m} + \tilde{V} \quad(2)</math>

<math>(1)</math> and <math>(2)</math> can be combined into a single complex equation by introducing the complex function <math>\psi = \sqrt{\rho}e^\frac{iS}{\hbar}</math>, then the two equations are equivalent to

:<math>i \hbar \frac{\partial \psi}{\partial t} = \left( - \frac{\hbar^2}{2m} \nabla^2 +\tilde{V}-Q \right)\psi \quad</math> with <math> Q = - \frac{\hbar^2}{2m} \frac{\nabla^2 \sqrt{\rho}}{\sqrt{\rho}}.</math>

The time dependent Schrödinger equation is obtained if we start with <math>\tilde{V} = V + Q</math>, the usual potential with an extra [[quantum potential]] <math>Q</math>. The quantum potential is the potential of the quantum force, which is proportional (in approximation) to the [[Curvature#Curvature of a graph|curvature]] of the amplitude of the wave function.

===Mathematical formulation for a single particle===

The matter wave of de Broglie is described by the time-dependent Schrödinger equation:

:<math> i \hbar \frac{\partial \psi}{\partial t} = \left( - \frac{\hbar^2}{2m} \nabla^2 +V \right)\psi \quad</math>

The complex wave function can be represented as:

<math>\psi = \sqrt{\rho} \; \exp \left( \frac{i \, S}{\hbar} \right) </math>

By plugging this into the Schrödinger equation, one can derive two new equations for the real variables. The first is the [[Probability current#Continuity equation for quantum mechanics|continuity equation for the probability density]]<math>\rho</math>:
<ref name=Bohm1952a/>

:<math>\partial \rho / \partial t + \nabla \cdot ( \rho v) =0 \; ,</math>

where the [[velocity field]] is defined by the guidance equation

:<math>\vec{v} (\vec{r},t) = \frac{\nabla S(\vec{r},t)}{m}\; .</math>

According to pilot wave theory, the point particle and the matter wave are both real and distinct physical entities (unlike standard quantum mechanics, where particles and waves are considered to be the same entities, connected by wave–particle duality).
The pilot wave guides the motion of the point particles as described by the guidance equation.

Ordinary quantum mechanics and pilot wave theory are based on the same partial differential equation. The main difference is that in ordinary quantum mechanics, the Schrödinger equation is connected to reality by the Born postulate, which states that the probability density of the particle's position is given by <math> \rho = |\psi|^2 </math>. Pilot wave theory considers the guidance equation to be the fundamental law, and sees the Born rule as a derived concept.

The second equation is a modified [[Hamilton-Jacobi equation|Hamilton–Jacobi equation]] for the action <math>S</math>:

:<math>- \frac{\partial S}{\partial t} = \frac{\left(\nabla S\right)^2}{2m} + V +Q \; ,</math>

where Q is the [[quantum potential]] defined by

:<math> Q = - \frac{\hbar^2}{2m} \frac{\nabla^2 \sqrt{\rho}}{\sqrt{\rho}}</math>

By neglecting Q, our equation is reduced to the Hamilton–Jacobi equation of a classical point particle. ( Strictly speaking, this is only a semiclassical limit {{clarify|date=March 2012}}, because the superposition principle still holds and one needs a decoherence mechanism to get rid of it. Interaction with the environment can provide this mechanism.) So, the quantum potential is responsible for all the mysterious effects of quantum mechanics.

One can also combine the modified Hamilton–Jacobi equation with the guidance equation to derive a quasi-Newtonian equation of motion

:<math>m \, \frac{d}{dt} \, \vec{v} = - \nabla( V + Q ) \; ,</math>

where the hydrodynamic time derivative is defined as

:<math>\frac{d}{dt} = \frac{ \partial }{ \partial t } + \vec{v} \cdot \nabla \; .</math>

===Mathematical formulation for multiple particles===

The Schrödinger equation for the many-body wave function <math> \psi(\vec{r}_1, \vec{r}_2, \cdots, t) </math> is given by

:<math> i \hbar \frac{\partial \psi}{\partial t} =\left( -\frac{\hbar^2}{2} \sum_{i=1}^{N} \frac{\nabla_i^2}{m_i} + V(\bold{r}_1,\bold{r}_2,\cdots\bold{r}_N) \right) \psi </math>

The complex wave function can be represented as:

:<math>\psi = \sqrt{\rho} \; \exp \left( \frac{i \, S}{\hbar} \right) </math>

The pilot wave guides the motion of the particles. The guidance equation for the jth particle is:

:<math> \vec{v}_j = \frac{\nabla_j S}{m_j}\; .</math>

The velocity of the jth particle explicitly depends on the positions of the other particles.
This means that the theory is nonlocal.

===Empty wave function===
[[Lucien Hardy]]<ref>
{{cite journal
|last=Hardy |first=L.
|year=1992
|title=On the existence of empty waves in quantum theory
|journal=[[Physics Letters A]]
|volume=167 |issue=1 |pages=11–16
|bibcode=1992PhLA..167...11H
|doi=10.1016/0375-9601(92)90618-V
}}</ref> and [[John Stewart Bell]]<ref name="bell-1992"/> have emphasized that in the de Broglie–Bohm picture of quantum mechanics there can exist '''empty waves''', represented by wave functions propagating in space and time but not carrying energy or momentum,<ref name="Selleri">
{{cite book
|last1=Selleri |first1=F.
|last2=Van der Merwe |first2=A.
|year=1990
|title=Quantum paradoxes and physical reality
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qUgX3B02ofAC&pg=PA85
|pages=85–86
|publisher=[[Kluwer Academic Publishers]]
|isbn=0-7923-0253-2
}}</ref> and not associated with a particle. The same concept was called ''ghost waves'' (or "Gespensterfelder", ''ghost fields'') by [[Albert Einstein]].<ref name="Selleri"/> The empty wave function notion has been discussed controversially.<ref>
{{cite journal
|last=Zukowski |first=M.
|year=1993
|title="On the existence of empty waves in quantum theory": a comment
|journal=[[Physics Letters A]]
|volume=175 |issue=3–4 |pages=257–258
|bibcode=1993PhLA..175..257Z
|doi=10.1016/0375-9601(93)90837-P
}}</ref><ref>
{{cite journal
|last=Zeh |first=H. D.
|year=1999
|title=Why Bohm's Quantum Theory?
|journal=[[Foundations of Physics Letters]]
|volume=12 |issue=2
|pages=197–200
|arxiv=quant-ph/9812059
|bibcode= 1999FoPhL..12..197Z
|doi=10.1023/A:1021669308832
}}</ref><ref>
{{cite journal
|last=Vaidman |first=L.
|year=2005
|title=The Reality in Bohmian Quantum Mechanics or Can You Kill with an Empty Wave Bullet?
|journal=Foundations of Physics
|volume=35 |issue=2 |pages=299–312
|arxiv=quant-ph/0312227
|bibcode=2005FoPh...35..299V
|doi=10.1007/s10701-004-1945-2
}}</ref> In contrast, the [[many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics]] does not call for empty wave functions.<ref name="bell-1992"/>

==See also==
* [[Hydrodynamic quantum analogs|Hydrodynamic quantum analogues]]
* [[Free-fall atomic model]] - modern search for electron trajectory

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}
*[http://math.mit.edu/~bush/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Bush-ARFM-2015.pdf "Pilot-wave hydrodynamics"] Bush, J.W.M, 2014, Annu. Rev. Fluid Mech., 49, 269–292.

==External links==
*[http://www-math.mit.edu/~bush/PNAS-2010-Bush.pdf "Quantum mechanics writ large"], Bush, J.W.M, 2010.
*[http://www.tcm.phy.cam.ac.uk/~mdt26/pilot_waves.html "Pilot waves, Bohmian metaphysics, and the foundations of quantum mechanics"], lecture course on pilot wave theory by [[Mike Towler]], Cambridge University (2009).
*[http://math.mit.edu/~bush/?page_id=484 "Hydrodynamic quantum analogues"] Research on hydrodynamic quantum analogues and hydrodynamic pilot-wave theory, by John Bush (MIT) and coworkers.
* [http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/qm-bohm/ More complete HTML encyclopedic page about the subject].

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pilot wave}}
[[Category:Hidden variable theory]]
[[Category:Interpretations of quantum mechanics]]
[[Category:Quantum measurement]]

Pilot wave - Revision history

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