Hydrodynamic quantum analogs
In 2005, Yves Couder and Emmanuel Fort discovered that millimetric droplets may self-propel along the surface of a vibrating liquid bath. It has since been shown that these walking droplets exhibit many features previously thought to be exclusive to the microscopic, quantum realm. These walking droplets are an example of wave-particle duality on the macroscopic scale ; moreover, they are the first macroscopic realization of a pilot-wave system of the form proposed for microscopic quantum dynamics by Louis de Broglie in the 1920s. New experimental and theoretical results allow us to explore its potential and limitations as a quantum analog, and so redefine the boundary between classical and quantum. A generalized pilot-wave framework is developed with a view to capturing additional quantum-like features inaccessible to the hydrodynamic system, and to forging links with existing quantum pilot-wave theories. A fledgling, trajectory-based description of quantum dynamics, informed by the hydrodynamic system, is explored. Particular attention is given to illustrating how the non-Markovian droplet dynamics may give rise to features that are generally attributed to nonlocality in quantum systems.
Contact Jan-Bert Flor for more information or to schedule a discussion with the seminar speaker.