The spin can be described in the star product formalism by extending the bosonic Moyal product in the fermionic sector. The fermionic star product is then the Clifford product of geometric algebra and it is possible to formulate the fermionic star product formalism in analogy to the bosonic star product formalism. For the fermionic star product description of spin, one can then establish the relation to other approaches that describe spin with fermionic variables, i.e. the operator formalism and the path integral formalism. It is shown that the fermionic star product formalism and the fermionic path integral formalism are related in analogy to their bosonic counterparts.
To describe the physical reality, there are two ways of constructing the dynamical equation of field, differential formalism and integral formalism. The importance of this fact is firstly emphasized by Yang in case of gauge field [Phys. Rev. Lett. 33 (1974) 445], where the fact has given rise to a deeper understanding for Aharonov-Bohm phase and magnetic monopole [Phys. Rev. D. 12 (1975) 3845]. In this paper we shall point out that such a fact also holds in general wave function of matter, it may give rise to a deeper understanding for Berry phase. Most importantly, we shall prove a point that…
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. This paper defines a universal path integral, which sums over all computable structures. This path integral contains as sub-integrals all possible computable path integrals, including those of field theory, the standard model of elementary particles, discrete models of quantum gravity, string theory, etc. The universal path integral possesses a well-defined me…
This note is an addendum to quant-ph/0507115. In that paper, I present a formalism for relativistic quantum mechanics in which the spacetime paths of particles are considered fundamental, reproducing the standard results of the traditional formulation of relativistic quantum mechanics and quantum field theory. Now, it is well known that there are issues with the ability to localize the position of particles in the usual formulation of relativistic quantum mechanics. The present note shows how, in the spacetime path formalism, the natural representation of on-shell 3-momentum states is effectiv…
We present a new method for the consistent construction of time-continuous coherent-state path integrals using the theory of half-form quantization. Through the inversion of the quantization procedure we construct a de-quantization map taking first order operators to their corresponding path integrals. We generalize our results using functional techniques, allowing for the consistent path integral study of more general operators, including higher orders and interactions.
Although the Hamiltonian formalism is so far favored for quantum computation of lattice gauge theory, the path integral formalism would never be useless. The advantages of the path integral formalism are the knowledge and experience accumulated by classical lattice simulation and manifest Lorentz invariance. We discuss quantum computation of lattice gauge theory in the path integral formalism. We utilize a quantum sampling algorithm to generate gauge configurations, and demonstrate a benchmark test of $Z_2$ lattice gauge theory on a four-dimensional hypercube.
We analyze the property of locality with respect to the framework for quantum mechanics based on the path integral formalism. As is well known, this framework makes the same experimental predictions as does the one based on a separable Hilbert space and the Schrödinger equation.
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 calculations because both of these models have some common ontological foundations. According to the hypothesis of the summation of coexisting alternative possibilities, at the quantum level, the system at once moves along all histories that possible in given boundary conditions. The actual history is a mere result of the summation of all these alternative possibl…
With the use of the path integral formalism for finite-temperature field theory, I find the persisting vector and axial currents that are generated in quantum chiral fermionic systems. The role of the explicit violation of chiral symmetry by fermion mass is elucidated. For the case of quantum fermionic systems in the backround of an arbitrary smooth magnetic field, I show that the chiral magnetic effect is substantiated on equally the same footing as the chiral separation effect is. Both effects remain unaltered if chiral symmetry is violated by mass.
We revisit the analysis of sharp infinite potentials within the path integral formalism using the image method [1]. We show that the use of a complete set of energy eigenstates that satisfy the boundary conditions of an infinite wall precisely generates the propagator proposed in Ref. [1]. We then show the validity of the image method by using supersymmetric quantum mechanics to relate a potential without a sharp boundary to the infinite square well and derive its propagator with an infinite number of image charges. Finally, we show that the image method readily generates the propagator for th…
We show how the time-continuous coherent state path integral breaks down for both the single-site Bose-Hubbard model and the spin path integral. Specifically, when the Hamiltonian is quadratic in a generator of the algebra used to construct coherent states, the path integral fails to produce correct results following from an operator approach. As suggested by previous authors, we note that the problems do not arise in the time-discretized version of the path integral.
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 possible paths in the constraint surface specified by the (relativistic) Hamiltonian constraint, and each path contributes with a phase identical to the classical action divided by $\hbar$. The timeless path integral manifests the timeless feature as it is completely independent of the parametrization for paths. For the special case that the Hamiltonian constrain…
The Berezin--Simon (BS) quantization is a rigorous version of the ``operator formalism'' of quantization procedure. The goal of the paper is to present a rigorous real-time (not imaginary-time) path-integral formalism corresponding to the BS operator formalism of quantization; Here we consider the classical systems whose phase space $M$ is a (possibly non-compact) Kähler manifold which satisfies some conditions, with a Hamiltonian $H:M\rightarrow\mathbb{R}$. For technical reasons, we consider only the cases where $H$ is smooth and bounded. We use Güneysu's extended version of the Feynman--Kac …
We introduce two new integral transforms of the quantum mechanical transition kernel that represent physical information about the path integral. These transforms can be interpreted as probability distributions on particle trajectories measuring respectively the relative contribution to the path integral from paths crossing a given spatial point (the hit function) and the likelihood of values of the line integral of the potential along a path in the ensemble (the path averaged potential).
We study boson-fermion dualities in one-dimensional many-body problems of identical particles interacting only through two-body contacts. By using the path-integral formalism as well as the configuration-space approach to indistinguishable particles, we find a generalization of the boson-fermion duality between the Lieb-Liniger model and the Cheon-Shigehara model. We present an explicit construction of $n$-boson and $n$-fermion models which are dual to each other and characterized by $n-1$ distinct (coordinate-dependent) coupling constants. These models enjoy the spectral equivalence, the boso…
A new definition for the path integral is proposed in terms of Finsler geometry. The conventional Feynman's scheme for quantisation by Lagrangian formalism suffers problems due to the lack of geometrical structure of the configuration space where the path integral is defined. We propose that, by implementing the Feynman's path integral on an extended configuration space endowed with a Finsler structure, the formalism could be justified as a proper scheme for quantisation from Lagrangian only, that is, independent from Hamiltonian formalism. The scheme is coordinate free, and also a covariant f…
Perturbative quantum field theory usually uses second quantisation and Feynman diagrams. The worldline formalism provides an alternative approach based on first quantised particle path integrals, similar in spirit to string perturbation theory. Here we review the history, main features and present applications of the formalism. Our emphasis is on recent developments such as the path integral representation of open fermion lines, the description of colour using auxiliary worldline fields, incorporation of higher spin, and extension of the formalism to non-commutative space.
This is an introductory review of the connection between homotopy theory and path integrals, mainly focus on works done by Schulman [23] that he compared path integral on SO(3) and its universal covering space SU(2), DeWitt and Laidlaw [15] that they proved the theorem to the case of path integrals on the multiply-connected topological spaces. Also, we discuss the application of the theorem in Aharonov-Bohm effect given by [20,24]. An informal introduction to homotopy theory is provided for readers who are not familiar with the theory.
Based on a previously developed recursive approach for calculating the short-time expansion of the propagator for systems with time-independent potentials and its time-dependent generalization for simple single-particle systems, in this paper we present a full extension of this formalism to a general quantum system with many degrees of freedom in a time-dependent potential. Furthermore, we also present a recursive approach for the velocity-independent part of the effective potential, which is necessary for calculating diagonal amplitudes and partition functions, as well as an extension from th…
