The Schrodinger Equation as a Gauge Theory

Abstract

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 $(2+1)$ 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.

arXiv commentv1: 58 pages; v2: 59 pages, text modified, misprints corrected, results improved; v3: 64 pages, major revision of sections 3.3 and 4, details added, new references added, comments and references are welcome