English

Is Born-Jordan really the universal Path Integral Quantization Rule?

Quantum Physics 2026-04-30 v1

Abstract

It has been argued that the Feynman path integral formalism leads to a quantization rule, and that the Born-Jordan rule is the unique quantization rule consistent with the correct short-time propagator behavior of the propagator for non-relativistic systems. We examine this short-time approximation and conclude, contrary to prevailing views, that the asymptotic expansion applies only to Hamiltonian functions that are at most quadratic in the momentum and with constant mass. While the Born-Jordan rule suggests the appropriate quantization of functions in this class, there are other rules which give the same answer, most notably the Weyl quantization scheme.

Cite

@article{arxiv.2501.06979,
  title  = {Is Born-Jordan really the universal Path Integral Quantization Rule?},
  author = {John E. Gough},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2501.06979},
  year   = {2026}
}

Comments

19 pages, 1 figure

R2 v1 2026-06-28T21:04:08.639Z