Related papers: Worldline Instantons II: The Fluctuation Prefactor
We develop a semiclassical framework for studying quantum particles constrained to curved surfaces using the momentous quantum mechanics formalism, which extends classical phase-space to include quantum fluctuation variables (moments). In a…
The worldline formalism is a useful scheme in Quantum Field Theory which has also become a powerful tool for numerical computations. It is based on the first quantisation of a point-particle whose transition amplitudes correspond to the…
The problem of a massive elastic string depinning from a linear defect under the action of a small driving force is considered. To exponential accuracy the decay rate is calculated with the help of the instanton method; then, fluctuations…
We analyze within a semiclassical approximation the form factor for the fluctuations of quantum matrix elements around their classical average. We find two contributions: one is proportional to the form factor for the density of states,…
Numerical minimization of the Euclidean action of the two-dimensional Abelian Higgs model is used to construct periodic instantons, the euclidean field configurations with two turning points describing transitions between the vicinities of…
This paper deals with the critical issue of approximating the pre-exponential factor in semiclassical molecular dynamics. The pre-exponential factor is important because it accounts for the quantum contribution to the semiclassical…
A numerical technique for calculating effective actions of electromagnetic backgrounds is proposed, which is based on the string-inspired worldline formalism. As examples, we consider scalar electrodynamics in three and four dimensions to…
We present a semiclassical non-perturbative approach for calculating the preheating process at the end of inflation. Our method involves integrating out the decayed particles within the path integral framework and subsequently determining…
We develop a general approach to calculating "nonuniversal" prefactors in static and dynamic correlation functions of 1D quantum liquids at zero temperature, by relating them to the finite size scaling of certain matrix elements (form…
The worldline formalism offers an alternative framework to the standard diagrammatic approach in quantum field theory, grounded in first-quantized relativistic path integrals. Over recent decades, this formalism has attracted growing…
The Euclidean path integral is well approximated by instantons. If instantons are dynamical, then instantons are necessarily complexified. These fuzzy instantons can have various physical applications. In slow-roll inflation models, fuzzy…
These two lectures give a pedagogical introduction to the ``string-inspired'' worldline technique for perturbative calculations in quantum field theory. This includes an overview over the present range of its applications. Several examples…
We analyze the non--perturbative features of 2D quantum gravity defined by stochastic regularization of the unstable matrix model showing, first, that the WKB approximation of the well-defined quantum Fokker-Planck hamiltonian corresponds…
The one loop effective action in quantum field theory can be expressed as a quantum mechanical path integral over world lines, with internal symmetries represented by Grassmanian variables. In this paper, we develop a real time, many body,…
We study pure noncommutative U(1) gauge theory representing its one-loop effective action in terms of a phase space worldline path integral. We write the quadratic action using the background field method to keep explicit gauge invariance,…
In quantum mechanics and quantum field theory perturbation theory generically requires the inclusion of extra contributions non-perturbative in the coupling, such as instantons, to reproduce exact results. We show how full non-perturbative…
We present a semiclassical analysis of the quantum propagator of a particle confined on one side by a steeply, monotonically rising potential. The models studied in detail have potentials proportional to $x^{\alpha}$ for $x>0$; the limit…
It is explained how first-quantized worldline path integrals can be used as an efficient alternative to Feynman diagrams in the calculation of QED amplitudes and effective actions. The examples include the one-loop photon splitting…
We present a general numerical method for computing precisely the false vacuum decay rate, including the prefactor due to quantum fluctuations about the classical bounce solution, in a self-interacting scalar field theory modeling the…
In a uniform ring-shaped one-dimensional superfluid, quantum fluctuations that unwind the order parameter need to transfer momentum to quasiparticles (phonons). We present a detailed calculation of the leading exponential factor governing…