The pilot-wave dynamics of walking droplets

A trajectory equation for walking droplets: hydrodynamic pilot-wave theory

We present the results of a theoretical investigation of droplets bouncing on a vertically vibrating fluid bath. An integro-differential equation describing the horizontal motion of the drop is developed by approximating the drop as a continuous moving source of standing waves. Our model indicates that, as the forcing acceleration is increased, the bouncing state destabilizes into steady horizo...

The wave-induced added mass of walking droplets

It has recently been demonstrated that droplets walking on a vibrating fluid bath exhibit several features previously thought to be peculiar to the microscopic realm. The walker, consisting of a droplet plus its guiding wavefield, is a spatially extended object. We here examine the dependence of the walker mass and momentum on its velocity. Doing so indicates that, when the walker’s time scale ...

Orbiting pairs of walking droplets: Dynamics and stability

A decade ago, Couder and Fort [Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 154101 (2006)] discovered that a millimetric droplet sustained on the surface of a vibrating fluid bath may self-propel through a resonant interaction with its own wave field. We here present the results of a combined experimental and theoretical investigation of the interactions of such walking droplets. Specifically, we delimit experimentall...

The onset of chaos in orbital pilot-wave dynamics.

We present the results of a numerical investigation of the emergence of chaos in the orbital dynamics of droplets walking on a vertically vibrating fluid bath and acted upon by one of the three different external forces, specifically, Coriolis, Coulomb, or linear spring forces. As the vibrational forcing of the bath is increased progressively, circular orbits destabilize into wobbling orbits an...

Exotic states of bouncing and walking droplets