Motion of vortices implies chaos in Bohmian mechanics

DIEGO A. WISNIACKI, ENRIQUE PUJALS

EUROPHYSICS LETTERS

Año: 2005 vol. 71 p. 159 - 165

0295-5075

Bohmian mechanics is a causal interpretation of quantum mechanics in which particles describe trajectories guided by the wave function. The dynamics in the vicinity of nodes of the wave function, usually called vortices, is regular if they are at rest. However, vortices generically move during time evolution of the system. We show that this movement is the origin of chaotic behavior of quantum trajectories. As an example, our general result is illustrated numerically in the two-dimensional isotropic harmonic oscillator.