- Accepted Paper
Schrödinger equation as a gauge theory
Phys. Rev. D - Accepted 22 October, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/htyp-1xmw
Phys. Rev. D - Accepted 22 October, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/htyp-1xmw
The conserved probability current of the Schrodinger field admits a dimension-dependent gauge representation that provides a convenient setting for comparing hydrodynamic, topological and infrared structures. We use this representation to develop a unified treatment of several deformations of the Madelung momentum. BF couplings incorporate electromagnetic interactions, Berry and spin connections, projected non-abelian adiabatic data, and intrinsic phase holonomy within the same framework. In dimensions, the Chern-Simons deformation can be reduced to a nonlocal functional of the wavefunction. Its Coulomb-gauge form separates into a phase-sensitive geometric contribution and a density-dependent dynamical contribution; we show explicitly how this separation changes under a general gauge transformation and recover the topological braiding phase in the well-separated adiabatic regime. For systems with a spatial boundary, we derive the equal-time symplectic structure, the associated surface charges, and their boundary algebra. Finally, after a nonlinear interaction produces the Bogoliubov acoustic branch, the radiative memory can be expressed in the dual two-form variables. Its zero-average component is generated by a residual large gauge transformation, whereas the monopole component remains independent global data. This provides a gauge-theoretic description of the memory/asymptotic-symmetry sector of the acoustic infrared structure.
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