Historical and Introductory Account of Bohmian Mechanics

Abstract

Bohmian mechanics, which is also called the de Broglie-Bohm theory, the pilot-wave model, and the causal interpretation of quantum mechanics, was originated in the 1920s by Louis de Broglie, re-discovered and developed in 1952 by David Bohm. No one more eloquently than John Bell has championed this theory in recent decades. Bell and Bernstein also argue convincingly that the de Broglie-Bohm interpretation of quantum mechanics should be part of any college curriculum on the subject. Comprehensive discussions of Bohmian mechanics can be found everywhere in the literature. In this introductory chapter, a brief historical description and short and updated account of this mechanics is provided for closed and open quantum systems; in particular, how the measurement problem is typically considered in this formalism. This chapter aims at providing the essential tools and background to better understand the rest of the monograph. It is clear that this mechanics is not the only one describing quantum mechanics in terms of trajectories but maybe it is becoming more and more known.