Department of Mathematical Sciences
H.J. Gay Lecture
Friday, February 20th, 2026
10:00AM-10:50AM
Stratton Hall 202
Speaker: John Bush, MIT
On demand video of this talk can be viewed at https://echo360.org/media/4a54c861-3737-4337-b7e1-61926fc47a68/public
Title: Hydrodynamic quantum analogs
Abstract: Since Yves Couder’s discovery in 2005 that droplets may self-propel along the surface of a vibrating liquid bath, numerous studies have shown that these walking droplets exhibit features previously thought to be exclusive to the microscopic, quantum realm. The walking-droplet system represents a macroscopic realization of wave-particle duality, and of a pilot-wave dynamics of the form proposed for microscopic quantum particles by Louis de Broglie in the 1920s. 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. Theoretical descriptions of the hydrodynamic system allow us to forge links with existing quantum pilot-wave theories and explore a broader class of classical pilot-wave systems. Particular attention is given to illustrating how the non-Markovian droplet dynamics may give rise to features that are taken as evidence of quantum nonlocality in their microscopic counterparts.