Related papers: Path integrals for actions that are not quadratic …
Time derivatives of scalar fields occur quadratically in textbook actions. A simple Legendre transformation turns the lagrangian into a hamiltonian that is quadratic in the momenta. The path integral over the momenta is gaussian. Mean…
In quantum field theory the path integral is usually formulated in the wave picture, i.e., as a sum over field evolutions. This path integral is difficult to define rigorously because of analytic problems whose resolution may ultimately…
The path integral formulation of quantum mechanics constructs the propagator by evaluating the action S for all classical paths in coordinate space. A corresponding momentum path integral may also be defined through Fourier transforms in…
Starting from the canonical formalism of relativistic (timeless) quantum mechanics, the formulation of timeless path integral is rigorously derived. The transition amplitude is reformulated as the sum, or functional integral, over all…
We consider Euclidean path integrals with higher derivative actions, including those that depend quadratically on acceleration, velocity and position. Such path integrals arise naturally in the study of stiff polymers, membranes with…
Feynman's Lagrangian path integral was an outgrowth of Dirac's vague surmise that Lagrangians have a role in quantum mechanics. Lagrangians implicitly incorporate Hamilton's first equation of motion, so their use contravenes the uncertainty…
On the basis of the canonical quantization procedure of a system defined on a cubic lattice, we propose a new method, in which resolutions of unity expressed in terms of eigenvectors are naturally provided, to find eigenvectors of field…
These lectures are intended for graduate students who want to acquire a working knowledge of path integral methods in a wide variety of fields in physics. In general the presentation is elementary and path integrals are developed in the…
Recently, it was found that a new set of simple techniques allow one to conveniently express ordinary integrals through differentiation. These techniques add to the general toolbox for integration and integral transforms such as the Fourier…
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…
We consider Feynman's path integral approach to quantum mechanics with a noncommutativity in position and momentum sectors of the phase space. We show that a quantum-mechanical system with this kind of noncommutativity is equivalent to the…
Extension of Feynman's path integral to quantum mechanics of noncommuting spatial coordinates is considered. The corresponding formalism for noncommutative classical dynamics related to quadratic Lagrangians (Hamiltonians) is formulated.…
In this paper we construct a path integral formulation of quantum mechanics on noncommutative phase-space. We first map the system to an equivalent system on the noncommutative plane. Then by applying the formalism of representing a quantum…
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…
These lectures are intended as an introduction to the technique of path integrals and their applications in physics. The audience is mainly first-year graduate students, and it is assumed that the reader has a good foundation in quantum…
The propagator for a certain class of two time-dependent coupled and driven harmonic oscillators with time-varying angular frequencies and masses is evaluated by path integration. This is simply done through suitably chosen generalized…
An action having an acceleration term in addition to the usual velocity term is analyzed. The quantum mechanical system is directly defined for Euclidean time using the path integral. The Euclidean Hamiltonian is shown to yield the…
Periodic classical trajectories are of fundamental importance both in classical and quantum physics. Here we develop path integral techniques to investigate such trajectories in an arbitrary, not necessarily energy conserving hamiltonian…
We briefly review a hamiltonian path integral formalism developed earlier by one of us. An important feature of this formalism is that the path integral quantization in arbitrary co-ordinates is set up making use of only classical…
We propose a new way to perform path integrals in quantum mechanics by using a quantum version of Hamilton-Jacobi theory. In classical mechanics, Hamilton-Jacobi theory is a powerful formalism, however, its utility is not explored in…