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arXiv:2603.06575

An ode to instantons

Oliver Janssen, Joel Karlsson, Flavio Riccardi, Mattia Varrone

hep-thquant-phSubmitted Mar 6, 2026• Announced Mar 9, 2026• 0 citations
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Abstract

We present a formalism for semiclassical time evolution in quantum mechanics, building on a century of work. We identify complex saddle points in real time, real saddle points in complex time, and complex saddle points in complex time that reproduce the known answers in classic problems. For the decay of a metastable state, we find finite time and finite energy analogs of the "bounce" which do not have strict zero or negative modes. The one-loop phase of the wave function and the multiplicity of bounce solutions at late times are discussed. The motivation of this work is to learn how to compute decay rates in quantum field theory in situations with non-trivial time dependence, by first taking a humble step backwards to the fascinating world of quantum mechanics.

Comments
In memory of Sidney Coleman on the occasion of his 89th birthday

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We present a formalism for semiclassical time evolution in quantum mechanics, building on a century of work. We identify complex saddle points in real time, real saddle points in complex time, and complex saddle points in complex time that reproduce the known answers in classic problems. For the decay of a metastable state, we find finite time and finite energy analogs of the "bounce" which do not have strict zero or negative modes. The one-loop phase of the wave function and the multiplicity of bounce solutions at late times are discussed. The motivation of this work is to learn how to compute decay rates in quantum field theory in situations with non-trivial time dependence, by first taking a humble step backwards to the fascinating world of quantum mechanics.
We study tunneling in one-dimensional quantum mechanics using the path integral in real time, where solutions of the classical equation of motion live in the complex plane. Analyzing solutions with small (complex) energy, relevant for constructing the wave function after a long time, we unravel the analytic structure of the action, and show explicitly how the imaginary time bounce arises as a parameterization of the lowest order term in the energy expansion. The real time calculation naturally extends to describe the wave function in the free region of the potential, reproducing the usual WKB approximation. The extension of our analysis to the semiclassical correction due to fluctuations on the saddle is left for future work.
We review the euclidean path-integral formalism in connection with the one-dimensional non-relativistic particle. The configurations which allow to construct a semiclassical approximation classify themselves into either topological (instantons) and non-topological (bounces) solutions. The quantum amplitudes consist on an exponential associated with the classical contribution multiplied by the fluctuation factor which is given by a functional determinant. The eigenfunctions as well as the energy eigenvalues of the quadratic operators at issue can be written in closed form due to the shape-invariance property. Accordingly we resort to the zeta-function method to compute the functional determinants in a systematic way. The effect of the multi-instantons configurations is also carefully considered. To illustrate the instanton calculus in a relevant model we go to the double-well potential. The second popular case is the periodic-potential where the initial levels split into bands. The quantum decay rate of the metastable states in a cubic model is evaluated by means of the bounce-like solution.
We review the euclidean path-integral formalism in connection with the one-dimensional non-relativistic particle.The configurations which allow construction of a semiclassical approximation classify themselves into either topological (instantons) and non-topological (bounces) solutions.The quantum amplitudes consist of an exponential associated with the classical contribution multiplied by the fluctuation factor which is given by a functional determinant.The eigenfunctions as well as the energy eigenvalues of the quadratic operators at issue can be written in closed form due to the shape-invariance property.Accordingly, we resort to the zeta-function method to compute the functional determinants in a systematic way.The effect of the multi-instantons configurations is also carefully considered.To illustrate the instanton calculus in a relevant model, we go to the double-well potential.The second popular case is the periodic-potential where the initial levels split into bands.The quantum decay rate of the metastable states in a cubic model is evaluated by means of the bounce-like solution.
A semiclassical approximation to the time evolution of coherent states may be derived from a saddle point approximation to the exact quantum propagator, and in general it involves complex classical dynamics. We generalize previous one-dimensional results to ddd dimensions, and for the case d=2d=2d=2 we present several applications. We also consider other simple approximations that depend only on real classical trajectories, but are not initial value representations. These approximations are able to reproduce interference and tunneling effects and involve propagating a few classical initial conditions compatible with the quantum uncertainties.
We analyze the problem of one dimensional quantum particle falling in a constant gravitational field, also known as the {\it bouncing ball}, employing a semiclassical approach known as momentous effective quantum mechanics. In this formalism the quantum evolution is described through a dynamical system of infinite dimension for the position, the momentum and all dispersions. Usually the system is truncated to have a finite dimensional one, however, in this case equations of motion decouple and the system can be solved. For a specific set of initial conditions we find that the time dependent dispersion in position is always around the classical trajectory.
We revisit the path integral description of quantum tunneling and its generalization to excited states. For clarity, we focus on the simple toy model of a point particle in a double-well potential, for which we perform all steps explicitly. Instead of performing the familiar Wick rotation from physical to imaginary time—which is inconsistent with the requisite boundary conditions when treating tunneling from excited states—we regularize the path integral by adding an infinitesimal complex contribution to the Hamiltonian, while keeping time strictly real. We find that this gives rise to a complex stationary-phase solution, in agreement with recent insights from Picard-Lefshetz theory. We then show that there exists a class of analytic solutions for the corresponding equations of motion, which can be made to match the appropriate boundary conditions in the physically relevant limits of a vanishing regulator and an infinite physical time. We provide a detailed discussion of this nontrivial limit. We find that, for systems without an explicit time-dependence, our approach reproduces the picture of an instantonlike solution defined on a finite Euclidean-time interval. Lastly, we discuss the generalization of our approach to broader classes of systems, for which it serves as a reliable framework for high-precision calculations.