Does a functional integral really need a Lagrangian?
Abstract
Path integral formulation of quantum mechanics (and also other equivalent formulations) depends on a Lagrangian and/or Hamiltonian function that is chosen to describe the underlying classical system. The arbitrariness presented in this choice leads to a phenomenon called Quantization ambiguity. For example both and L_2=e^\dot{q} are suitable Lagrangians on a classical level (), but quantum mechanically they are diverse. This paper presents a simple rearrangement of the path integral to a surface functional integral. It is shown that the surface functional integral formulation gives transition probability amplitude which is free of any Lagrangian/Hamiltonian and requires just the underlying classical equations of motion. A simple example examining the functionality of the proposed method is considered.
Cite
@article{arxiv.0812.0678,
title = {Does a functional integral really need a Lagrangian?},
author = {Denis Kochan},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:0812.0678},
year = {2010}
}
Comments
4 pages, published version, references added, comments are welcome