The Madelung equations or the equations of quantum hydrodynamics are Erwin Madelung's equivalent alternative formulation of the Schrödinger equation, written in terms of hydrodynamical variables, similar to the Navier-Stokes equations of fluid dynamics. The derivation of the Madelung equations is similar to the de Broglie–Bohm formulation which represents the Schrödinger equation as a Quantum Hamilton–Jacobi equation.
The Madelung equations are quantum Euler equations:
where is the flow velocity, is the mass density, is the Bohm quantum potential, and V is the potential from the Schroedinger equation. The circulation of the flow velocity field along any closed path obeys the auxiliary condition .