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arXiv:2602.02466

Resolving problems with the continuum limit in coherent-state path integrals

Oliwier Urbański

quant-phmath-phSubmitted Feb 2, 2026• Announced Feb 3, 2026• 0 citations• Revised Jun 18, 2026 (v2)

v1 · Feb 2, 2026 v2 · Jun 18, 2026

Abstract

The paper solves the problem of continuum limit in bosonic thermal coherent-state path integrals. For this purpose, exact discrete versions of the path integral are constructed for three different orderings of the Hamiltonian: normal, anti-normal and symmetric (Weyl order). Subsequently, their different continuum versions are checked on the harmonic oscillator, to choose the symmetric ordering as a possibly correct choice for all polynomial Hamiltonians. Spotted mathematical subtleties in the simple case serve as a clue to the general solution. Finally, a general justification for the symmetric order is provided by deriving the continuum path integral starting from the exact discrete case using a renormalization procedure in the imaginary time frequency domain. While the role of Weyl order has already been found, the paper provides the missing proof of its suitability for every polynomial Hamiltonian and simplifies the previously established construction by referring only to creation and annihilation operators (without position and momentum operators).

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The paper solves the problem of continuum limit in bosonic thermal coherent-state path integrals. For this purpose, exact discrete versions of the path integral are constructed for three different orderings of the Hamiltonian: normal, anti-normal and symmetric (Weyl order). Subsequently, their different continuum versions are checked on the harmonic oscillator, to choose the symmetric ordering as a possibly correct choice for all polynomial Hamiltonians. Spotted mathematical subtleties in the simple case serve as a clue to the general solution. Finally, a general justification for the symmetric order is provided by deriving the continuum path integral starting from the exact discrete case using a renormalization procedure in the imaginary time frequency domain. While the role of Weyl order has already been found, the paper provides the missing proof of its suitability for every polynomial Hamiltonian and simplifies the previously established construction by referring only to creation and annihilation operators (without position and momentum operators).

We construct a representation of the coherent state path integral using the Weyl symbol of the Hamiltonian operator. This representation is very different from the usual path integral forms suggested by Klauder and Skagerstam (1985 Coherent States: Applications in Physics and Mathematical Physics (Singapore: World Scientific)), which involve the normal or the antinormal ordering of the Hamiltonian. These different representations, although equivalent quantum mechanically, lead to different semiclassical limits. We show that the semiclassical limit of the coherent state propagator in the Weyl representation involves classical trajectories that are independent of the width of coherent states. This propagator is also free from the phase corrections found in Baranger et al ( 2001 J. Phys. A: Math. Gen. 34 7227 ) for the two Klauder forms and provides an explicit connection between the Wigner and the Husimi representations of the evolution operator.

Two long-standing problems in the construction of coherent state path integrals, the unwarranted assumption of path continuity and the ambiguous definition of the Hamiltonian symbol, are rigorously solved. To this end the fully controlled dual representation familiar from lattice quantum field theories is introduced. Dualization allows for both the step-by-step check in the construction of discrete path integrals and for the identification of the Hamiltonian and Berry phase part of the action, thus making both discrete and continuous path integrals consistently defined. Once the correct action is constructed, we are able to follow the transition to the continuum for the polar form of general Bose-Hubbard models and to provide an exact form of the path integral for general spin systems, where previous works showed its failure for all standard choices of operator ordering.

In these notes, we elucidate some subtle aspects of coherent-state path integrals, focusing on their application to the equilibrium thermodynamics of quantum many-particle systems. These subtleties emerge when evaluating path integrals in the continuum, either in imaginary time or in Matsubara-frequency space. Our central message is that, when handled with due care, the path integral yields results identical to those obtained from the canonical Hamiltonian approach. We illustrate this through a pedagogical treatment of several paradigmatic systems: the bosonic and fermionic harmonic oscillators, the single-site Bose-Hubbard and Hubbard models, the weakly-interacting Bose gas with finite-range interactions, and the BCS superconductor with finite-range interactions.

In this project two steps involved in the handling of path integrals are reexamined in detail for coherent state path integals. They concern the continuum limit approximation and the regularization of the formal path integrals. Restricting oneself to the harmonic oscillator, the technique of time splitting is used to set up the coherent state path integrals and the proper way to pass to the continuum limit is demonstrated. The manipulation of these path integrals calls for regularization procedures and the validity of discrete, Riemann zeta function and 'derivative' regularization methods is observed. A modification to a fermionic theory is briefly mentioned and, finally, the above results are implemented in writing down a path integral for a single spin.

Using the generalized coherent states it is shown that the path integral formulas for SU(2) and SU(1,1) (in the discrete series) are WKB exact, if it is started from the trace of e−iTĤ, where Ĥ is given by a linear combination of generators. In this case, the WKB approximation is achieved by taking a large ‘‘spin’’ limit: J,K→∞, under which it is found that each coefficient vanishes except the leading term which indeed gives the exact result. It is further pointed out that the discretized form of path integral is indispensable, in other words, the continuum path integral expression sometimes leads to a wrong result. Therefore great care must be taken when some geometrical action would be adopted, even if it is so beautiful as the starting ingredient of path integral. Discussions on generalized coherent states are also presented both from geometrical and simple oscillator (Schwinger boson) points of view.