We outline an approach to calculating the quantum mechanical propagator in the presence of geometrically nontrivial Dirichlet boundary conditions. The method is based on a generalization of an integral transform of the propagator studied in previous work (the so-called "hit function") and a convergent sequence of Padé approximants that exposes the limit of perfectly reflecting boundaries. In this paper the generalized hit function is defined as a many-point propagator, and we describe its relation to the sum over trajectories in the Feynman path integral. We then show how it can be used to calculate the Feynman propagator. We calculate analytically all such hit functions in D=1 and D=3 dimensions, giving recursion relations between them in the same or different dimensions and apply the results to the simple cases of propagation in the presence of perfectly conducting planar and spherical plates. We use these results to conjecture a general analytical formula for the propagator when Dirichlet boundary conditions are present in a given geometry, also explaining how it can be extended for application for more general, nonlocalized potentials. Our work has resonance with previous results obtained by Grosche in the study of path integrals in the presence of delta potentials. We indicate the eventual application in a relativistic context to determining Casimir energies using this technique.
We outline an approach to calculating the quantum mechanical propagator in the presence of geometrically nontrivial Dirichlet boundary conditions. The method is based on a generalization of an integral transform of the propagator studied in previous work (the so-called "hit function") and a convergent sequence of Padé approximants that exposes the limit of perfectly reflecting boundaries. In this paper the generalized hit function is defined as a many-point propagator, and we describe its relation to the sum over trajectories in the Feynman path integral. We then show how it can be used to calculate the Feynman propagator. We calculate analytically all such hit functions in D=1 and D=3 dimensions, giving recursion relations between them in the same or different dimensions and apply the results to the simple cases of propagation in the presence of perfectly conducting planar and spherical plates. We use these results to conjecture a general analytical formula for the propagator when Dirichlet boundary conditions are present in a given geometry, also explaining how it can be extended for application for more general, nonlocalized potentials. Our work has resonance with previous results obtained by Grosche in the study of path integrals in the presence of delta potentials. We indicate the eventual application in a relativistic context to determining Casimir energies using this technique.
The path integral formulation of quantum mechanics generalizes the action principle of classical mechanics. The Feynman path integral is, roughly speaking, a sum over all possible paths that a particle can take between fixed endpoints, where each path contributes to the sum by a phase factor involving the action for the path. The resulting sum gives the probability amplitude of propagation between the two endpoints, a quantity called the propagator. Solutions of the Feynman path integral formula exist, however, only for a small number of simple systems, and modifications need to be made when dealing with more complicated systems involving singular potentials, including the Coulomb potential. We derive a generalized path integral formula, that can be used in these cases, for a quantity called the pseudo-propagator from which we obtain the fixed-energy amplitude, related to the propagator by a Fourier transform. The new path integral formula is then successfully solved for the Hydrogen atom in two and three dimensions, and we obtain integral representations for the fixed-energy amplitude.
The problem of finding the exact spacetime particle's propagator in the presence of a potential step (interface between different materials) is revisited. In contrast to the conventional Feynman path-integral approach, integration over all energy values of the particle's spectral density matrix (discontinuity of the energy-dependent Green's function across the real energy axis) is suggested for obtaining the exact spacetime propagator. The energy-dependent Green's functions are found in the framework of the multiple scattering theory (MST). The problem of finding the step-localized energy-dependent potentials responsible for the particle's reflection from and transmission through a potential step, which are needed for MST application, is solved. The obtained exact result for the particle's propagator is expressed in terms of integrals of elementary functions and has a significantly simpler form than that reported earlier. The obtained expressions allow easy evaluation of all limiting cases, including the case of the infinitely large potential step, as well as simple numerical visualization. The square of the absolute value of the propagator, which represents the relative transition probability density between two spacetime points, is plotted and discussed in detail for the cases of particle reflection and transmission.
The path integral for the propagator is expanded into a perturbation series, which can be exactly summed in the case of \ensuremath{\delta}-function perturbations giving a closed expression for the (energy-dependent) Green function. Making the strength of the \ensuremath{\delta}-function perturbation infinite repulsive produces a totally reflecting boundary, hence giving a path integral solution in half spaces in terms of the corresponding Green function. The example of the Wood-Saxon potential serves by an appropriate limiting procedure to obtain the Green function for the step potential and the finite potential well in the half space, respectively.
A direct procedure for determining the propagator associated with a quantum mechanical problem was given by the Path Integration Procedure of Feynman.The Green function, which is the Fourier Transform with respect to the time variable of the propagator, can be derived later.In our approach, with the help of a Laplace transform, a direct way to get the energy dependent Green function is presented, and the propagator can be obtained later with an inverse Laplace transform.The method is illustrated through simple one dimensional examples and for time independent potentials, though it can be generalized to the derivation of more complicated propagators.
We present an alternative treatment for simple time-independent quantum systems in one dimension, which can be used in the context of an elementary introduction to quantum physics using the Feynman approach. The method is based on representation of the energy-dependent propagator (or Green function) as a sum of complex amplitudes over all possible paths, classical and non-classical, at fixed energy. We treat both confined and open systems with piecewise-constant potentials, obtaining exact results. We introduce an approximation scheme to extend the method to smooth potentials, recovering the Van Vleck-Gutzwiller propagator. Finally, we discuss the educational application of the method.
We consider general quantum random walks in a d -dimensional half-space. We first obtain a path integral formula for general quantum random walks in a d -dimensional space. Our path integral formula is valid for general quantum random walks on Cayley graphs as well. Then the path integral formula is applied to obtain the scaling limit of the exit distribution, the expectation of exit time and the asymptotic behaviour of the exit probabilities, for general quantum random walks in a half-space under some conditions on amplitude functions. The conditions are shown to be satisfied by both the Hadamard and Grover quantum random walks in two-dimensional half-spaces. For the two-dimensional case, we show that the critical exponent for the scaling limit of the hitting distribution is 1 as the lattice spacing tends to zero, i.e. the natural magnitude of the hitting position is of order O (1) if the lattice spacing is set to be 1/ n . We also show that the rate of convergence of the total hitting probability has lower bound n −2 and upper bound n −2+ for any > 0. For a quantum random walk with a fixed starting point, we show that the probability of hitting times at the hyperplane decays faster than that of the classical random walk. In both one and two dimensions, given the event of a hit, the conditional expectation of hitting times is finite, in contrast to being infinite for the classical case. In the one-dimensional case, we also obtain an exact order of the probability distribution of the hitting time at 0.