The dynamics of circular Rydberg wave packets for the hydrogen atom with particular emphasis on fractional and full revivals previously studied by Gaeta and Stroud [Phys. Rev. A 42, 6308 (1990)], is developed within the de Broglie-Bohm pilot-wave theory. The classical limit at high quantum numbers as described within the correspondence principle is compared with the classical limit of pilot-wave theory. By studying ensembles of particles it is found that pilot-wave theory is able to deliver a consistent picture of the particle dynamics even in the high-quantum-number limit, where classical and quantum features coexist.

• Received 6 July 1998

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.59.1063