The walking droplet system discovered by Yves Couder and Emmanuel Fort presents an example of a vibrating particle self-propelling through a resonant interaction with its own wave field. It provides a means of visualizing a particle as an excitation of a field, a common notion in quantum field theory. Moreover, it represents the first macroscopic realization of a form of dynamics proposed for quantum particles by Louis de Broglie in the 1920s. The fact that this hydrodynamic pilot-wave system exhibits many features typically associated with the microscopic, quantum realm raises a number of intriguing questions. At a minimum, it extends the range of classical systems to include quantum-like statistics in a number of settings. A more optimistic stance is that it suggests the manner in which quantum mechanics might be completed through a theoretical description of particle trajectories. We here review the experimental studies of the walker system, and the hierarchy of theoretical models developed to rationalize its behavior. Particular attention is given to enumerating the dynamical mechanisms responsible for the emergence of robust, structured statistical behavior. Another focus is demonstrating how the temporal nonlocality of the droplet dynamics, as results from the persistence of its pilot wave field, may give rise to behavior that appears to be spatially nonlocal. Finally, we describe recent explorations of a generalized theoretical framework that provides a mathematical bridge between the hydrodynamic pilot-wave system and various realist models of quantum dynamics.

由 Yves Couder 和 Emmanuel Fort 发现的行走液滴系统展示了一个振动粒子通过与其自身波场的共振相互作用而自行推进的示例。它提供了一种将粒子可视化为场激发的方法，这是量子场论中的一个常见概念。此外，它代表了路易斯·德布罗意在 1920 年代提出的量子粒子动力学形式的第一次宏观实现。这种流体动力学导波系统表现出许多通常与微观量子领域相关的特征，这一事实引发了许多有趣的问题。至少，它扩展了经典系统的范围，在许多设置中包含类似量子的统计数据。更乐观的立场是，它暗示了量子力学可以通过对粒子轨迹的理论描述来完成的方式。我们在这里回顾了步行者系统的实验研究，以及为使其行为合理化而开发的理论模型的层次结构。特别注意列举导致稳健、结构化统计行为出现的动态机制。另一个重点是证明液滴动力学的时间非定域性，由于其导波场的持续存在，可能会导致似乎在空间上非定域的行为。最后，