The correspondence of a new form of quantum mechanics based on a quantum version of the action principle, which was proposed earlier [arXiv:0807.3508], with the ordinary quantum mechanics is established. New potentialities of the quantum action principle in the interpretation of quantum mechanics are considered.
A generalized canonical form of action of dynamic theories with higher derivatives is proposed, which does not require the introduction of additional dynamic variables. This form is the initial point for the construction of quantum theory, in which the state of motion of the system is described by the wave functional on its trajectories in the configuration space, and the functional itself is an eigenvector of the action operator. The Pais-Uhlenbeck oscillator is considered as the simplest model. For this case, the correspondence between the new form of quantum theory and "ordinary" quantum mechanics has been established in the local limit, when the Pais-Uhlenbeck oscillator is reduced to the "ordinary" harmonic oscillator.
# Least Action in Classical Mechanics: # The Concept of Functional # The Principle of Least Action # Conservation of Energy. Constants of the Motion # Particles Interacting Through an Intermediate Oscillator # Least Action in Quantum Mechanics: # The Lagrangian in Quantum Mechanics # The Calculation of Matrix Elements in the Language of a Lagrangian # The Equations of Motion in Lagrangian Form # Translation to the Ordinary Notation of Quantum Mechanics # The Generalization to Any Action Function # Conservation of Energy. Constants of the Motion # The Role of the Wave Function # Transition Probabilities # Expectation Values for Observables # Application to the Forced Harmonic Oscillator # Particles Interacting Through an Intermediate Oscillator # Space-Time Approach to Non-Relativistic Quantum Mechanics # The Lagrangian in Quantum Mechanics