1201.4509 (Alexander Y. Davydov)

Wave-Particle Duality in Classical Mechanics    [PDF]

Alexander Y. Davydov

Until recently, wave-particle duality has been thought of as quantum
principle without a counterpart in classical physics. This belief was
challenged after (i) finding that average dynamics of a classical particle in
strong inhomogeneous oscillating field resembles that of a quantum object and
(ii) experimental discovery of "walkers" - macroscopic droplets that bounce on
a vertically vibrating bath of the same fluid and can self-propell via
interaction with the surface waves they generate. This paper exposes a new
family of objects that can display both particle and wave features all together
while strictly obeying laws of the Newtonian mechanics. In contrast to the
previously known duality examples in classical physics, oscillating field or
constant inflow of energy are not required for their existence. These objects
behave deterministically provided that all their degrees of freedom are known
to an observer. If, however, some degrees of freedom are unknown, observer can
describe such objects only {\it probabilistically} and they manifest {\it
weird} features similar to that of quantum particles. We show new classical
counterparts of such quantum phenomena as particle interference, tunneling,
above-barrier reflection, trapping on top of a barrier, and spontaneous
emission of radiation. In the light of these findings, we hypothesize that
quantum mechanics may \emph{emerge} as approximation from a more profound
theory on a deeper level.

View original: http://arxiv.org/abs/1201.4509