Single-particle Schrödinger fluid. I. Formulation

The problem of a single quantal particle moving in a time-dependent external potential well is formulated specifically to emphasize and develop the fluid dynamical aspects of the matter flow. This idealized problem, the single-particle Schr\"odinger fluid, is shown to exhibit already a remarkably rich variety of fluid dynamical features, including compressible flow and line vortices. It provides also a sufficient framework to encompass simultaneously various simplified fluidic models for nuclei which have earlier been postulated on an ad hoc basis, and to illuminate their underlying restrictions. Explicit solutions of the single-particle Schr\"odinger fluid problem are studied in the adiabatic limit for their mathematical and physical implications (especially regarding the collective kinetic energy). The basic generalizations for extension of the treatment to the many-body Schr\"odinger fluid are set forth.NUCLEAR STRUCTURE Fluid dynamical formulation of quantum mechanics, single-particle behavior in nuclear collective motion, fission and heavy-ion collision, inertial parameter, adiabatic approximation.