Related papers: Path Integrals and Reality
Path integrals represent a powerful route to quantization: they calculate probabilities by summing over classical configurations of variables such as fields, assigning each configuration a phase equal to the action of that configuration.…
Following the renewed interest in the topic [1], we revisit the problem of assigning probabilities to classes of Feynman paths passing through specified space-time regions. We show that by assigning of probabilities to interfering…
In this paper, I propose a realistic interpretation (RI) of quantum mechanics, that is, an interpretation according to which a particle follows a definite path in spacetime. The path is not deterministic but it is rather a random walk.…
The Feynman path integral does not allow a "one real path" interpretation, because amplitudes contribute to probabilities in a non-separable manner. The opposite extreme, "all paths happen", is not a useful or informative account. In this…
We consider a finite-dimensional quantum system, making a transition between known initial and final states. The outcomes of several accurate measurements, which {\it could be} made in the interim, define virtual paths, each endowed with a…
A discrete formulation of the real-time path integral as the expectation value of a functional of paths with respect to a complex probability on a sample space of discrete valued paths is explored. The formulation in terms of complex…
In this paper, I consider the issue of how two mathematical models of modern physics, the variational principles and the quantum path integral formalism, relate to reality. I assume that the observed phenomena are consistent with the…
Quantum mechanics describes the relation between different measurement contexts in terms of superpositions of the potential measurement outcomes. This relation between measurement contexts makes it impossible to determine context…
Path integrals are a ubiquitous tool in theoretical physics. However, their use is sometimes hindered by the lack of control on various manipulations -- such as performing a change of the integration path -- one would like to carry out in…
We analyze a single-particle Mach-Zehnder interferometer experiment in which the path length of one arm may change (randomly or systematically) according to the value of an external two-valued variable $x$, for each passage of a particle…
A quantum measurement model based upon restricted path-integrals allows us to study measurements of generalized position in various one-dimensional systems of phenomenological interest. After a general overview of the method we discuss the…
We carry out the nonperturbative canonical quantization of several types of cosmological models that have already been studied in the geometrodynamic formulation using the complex path-integral approach. We establish a relation between the…
This paper implements in a simple but rigorous fashion a model of particle interaction involving all paths within a quantum system, both for configuration space and for spin. The model, which we call the space of all paths, leads to a…
Discrete-time quantum walk in one-dimension is studied from a path-integral perspective. This enables derivation of a closed-form expression for amplitudes corresponding to any coin-position basis of the state vector of the quantum walker…
The essence of the path integral method in quantum physics can be expressed in terms of two relations between unitary propagators, describing perturbations of the underlying system. They inherit the causal structure of the theory and its…
Although the path-integral formalism is known to be equivalent to conventional quantum mechanics, it is not generally obvious how to implement path-based calculations for multi-qubit entangled states. Whether one takes the formal view of…
The path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, i.e., the idea that the evolution of a quantum system is determined as a sum over all the possible trajectories that would take the system from the initial to its final state of its…
Path integrals are a central tool when it comes to describing quantum or thermal fluctuations of particles or fields. Their success dates back to Feynman who showed how to use them within the framework of quantum mechanics. Since then, path…
The quantum "mystery which cannot go away" (in Feynman's words) of wave-particle duality is illustrated in a striking way by Wheeler's delayed-choice GedankenExperiment. In this experiment, the configuration of a two-path interferometer is…
Background: Path integrals are a powerful tool for solving problems in quantum theory that are not amenable to a treatment by perturbation theory. Most path integral computations require an analytic continuation to imaginary time. While…