  The composition of the quantum potential and its role in the breakdown of
classical symplectic symmetry in quantum mechanics is investigated. General
expressions are derived for the quantum potential in both configuration space
and momentum space representations. By comparing the configuration space and
momentum space representations of the causal interpretation of quantum
mechanics, the quantum potential is shown to break the symplectic symmetry that
exists between these two representations in classical mechanics. In addition,
it is shown that the quantum potential in configuration space may be expressed
as the sum of a momentum dispersion energy and a spatial localisation energy; a
complementary expression for the quantum potential being found in the momentum
representation. The composition and role of the quantum potential in both
representations is analysed for a particle in a linear potential and for two
eigenstates of the quantum harmonic oscillator.
