Towards a mathematical Theory of the Madelung Equations

DOI10.1088/1751-8121/ACC7DBzbMATH Open1522.81079arXiv2207.11367MaRDI QIDQ6405797FDOQ6405797

Publication date: 22 July 2022

Abstract: Even though the Madelung equations are central to many 'classical' approaches to the foundations of quantum mechanics such as Bohmian and stochastic mechanics, no coherent mathematical theory has been developed so far for this system of partial differential equations. Wallstrom prominently raised objections against the Madelung equations, aiming to show that no such theory exists in which the system is well-posed and in which the Schr"odinger equation is recovered without the imposition of an additional 'ad hoc quantization condition'--like the one proposed by Takabayasi. The primary objective of our work is to clarify in which sense Wallstrom's objections are justified and in which sense they are not, with a view on the existing literature. We find that it may be possible to construct a mathematical theory of the Madelung equations which is satisfactory in the aforementioned sense, though more mathematical research is required.

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Formal methods and deformations in algebraic geometry (14D15) Closed and approximate solutions to the Schrödinger, Dirac, Klein-Gordon and other equations of quantum mechanics (81Q05) Geometry and quantization, symplectic methods (81S10) Differential geometric methods, including holonomy, Berry and Hannay phases, Aharonov-Bohm effect, etc. in quantum theory (81Q70) Stochastic geometric mechanics (70L10)

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