Bohmian mechanics: A legitimate hydrodynamic picture for quantum mechanics, and beyond

Quantum Physics arXiv:2601.07932 (quant-ph) [Submitted on 12 Jan 2026] Title:Bohmian mechanics: A legitimate hydrodynamic picture for quantum mechanics, and beyond Authors:A. S. Sanz View a PDF of the paper titled Bohmian mechanics: A legitimate hydrodynamic picture for quantum mechanics, and beyond, by A. S. Sanz View PDF HTML (experimental) Abstract:Since its inception, Bohmian mechanics has been surrounded by a halo of controversy. Originally proposed to bypass the limitations imposed by von Neumann's theorem on the impossibility of hidden-variable models in quantum mechanics, it faced strong opposition from the outset. Over time, however, its use in tackling specific problems across various branches of physics has led to a gradual shift in attitude, turning the early resistance into a more moderate acceptance. A plausible explanation for this change may be that, since the late 1990s and early 2000s, Bohmian mechanics has been taking on a more operational and practical role. The original hidden-variable idea has gradually faded from its framework, giving way to a more pragmatic approach that treats it as a suitable analytical and computational tool. This discussion explores how and why such a shift in perspective has occurred and, therefore, answers questions such as whether Bohmian mechanics should be considered once and for all a legitimate quantum representation (i.e., worth being taught in elementary quantum mechanics courses) or, by extension, whether these ideas can be transferred to and benefit other fields. Here, the Schrödinger equation and several specific numerical examples are re-examined in the light of a less restrictive view than the standard one usually adopted in quantum mechanics. Comments: Subjects: Quantum Physics (quant-ph); History and Philosophy of Physics (physics.hist-ph) Cite as: arXiv:2601.07932 [quant-ph] (or arXiv:2601.07932v1 [quant-ph] for this version) https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2601.07932 Focus to learn more arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite (pending registration) Submission history From: Angel S. Sanz [view email] [v1] Mon, 12 Jan 2026 19:01:58 UTC (4,806 KB) Full-text links: Access Paper: View a PDF of the paper titled Bohmian mechanics: A legitimate hydrodynamic picture for quantum mechanics, and beyond, by A. S. SanzView PDFHTML (experimental)TeX Source view license Current browse context: quant-ph new | recent | 2026-01 Change to browse by: physics physics.hist-ph References & Citations INSPIRE HEP NASA ADSGoogle Scholar Semantic Scholar export BibTeX citation Loading... BibTeX formatted citation × loading... Data provided by: Bookmark Bibliographic Tools Bibliographic and Citation Tools Bibliographic Explorer Toggle Bibliographic Explorer (What is the Explorer?) Connected Papers Toggle Connected Papers (What is Connected Papers?) Litmaps Toggle Litmaps (What is Litmaps?) scite.ai Toggle scite Smart Citations (What are Smart Citations?) Code, Data, Media Code, Data and Media Associated with this Article alphaXiv Toggle alphaXiv (What is alphaXiv?) Links to Code Toggle CatalyzeX Code Finder for Papers (What is CatalyzeX?) DagsHub Toggle DagsHub (What is DagsHub?) GotitPub Toggle Gotit.pub (What is GotitPub?) Huggingface Toggle Hugging Face (What is Huggingface?) Links to Code Toggle Papers with Code (What is Papers with Code?) ScienceCast Toggle ScienceCast (What is ScienceCast?) Demos Demos Replicate Toggle Replicate (What is Replicate?) Spaces Toggle Hugging Face Spaces (What is Spaces?) Spaces Toggle TXYZ.AI (What is TXYZ.AI?) Related Papers Recommenders and Search Tools Link to Influence Flower Influence Flower (What are Influence Flowers?) Core recommender toggle CORE Recommender (What is CORE?) Author Venue Institution Topic About arXivLabs arXivLabs: experimental projects with community collaborators arXivLabs is a framework that allows collaborators to develop and share new arXiv features directly on our website. Both individuals and organizations that work with arXivLabs have embraced and accepted our values of openness, community, excellence, and user data privacy. arXiv is committed to these values and only works with partners that adhere to them. Have an idea for a project that will add value for arXiv's community? Learn more about arXivLabs. Which authors of this paper are endorsers? | Disable MathJax (What is MathJax?)