Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2013 / iii / Paper 57 / 1 / a / ii

In Bohmian mechanics the particle has a definite position $\mathbf{X}(t)$ at every time. Its wavefunction obeys the usual autonomous wave equation, while its actual position follows the guidance equationHere $\mathbf{j}$ is the probability current. The Born rule is the quantum-equilibrium choice of initial position distribution $\rho =|\psi {|}^2$; quantum equilibrium equivariance ensures that this distribution persists because it obeys the same probability continuity equation as the wave amplitude. The guidance equation fixes the initial velocity as well as subsequent velocities: the second-order equation below does not permit an independent arbitrary initial velocity.

Define the quantum potentialTaking the gradient of the real Madelung equations givesOn any smooth phase patch $\nabla \times \mathbf{v}=0$, so $\nabla (|\mathbf{v}{|}^2/2)=(\mathbf{v}\cdot \nabla )\mathbf{v}$. Along the actual path, differentiation is the material derivative $D/Dt={\partial }_t+\mathbf{v}\cdot \nabla$. ThereforeThis is the Bohmian mechanics Newton form: the classical force is supplemented by the amplitude-dependent quantum potential. Neither division by $R$ nor a smooth phase is justified at a wavefunction node, so the derivation applies on nonzero-amplitude regions. A nonzero circulation around a node is compatible with the locally curl-free guidance equation.