Path Integrals in Physics: Volume I, Stochastic Processes and Quantum Mechanics presents the fundamentals of path integrals, both the Wiener and Feynman type, and their many applications in physics. Accessible to a broad community of theoretical physicists, the book deals with systems possessing a infinite number of degrees in freedom. It discusses the general physical background and concepts of the path integral approach used, followed by a detailed presentation of the most typical and important applications as well as problems with either their solutions or hints how to solve them. It describes in detail various applications, including systems with Grassmann variables. Each chapter is self-contained and can be considered as an independent textbook. The book provides a comprehensive, detailed, and systematic account of the subject suitable for both students and experienced researchers.
Path Integrals in Physics: Volume I, Stochastic Processes and Quantum Mechanics presents the fundamentals of path integrals, both the Wiener and Feynman type, and their many applications in physics. Accessible to a broad community of theoretical physicists, the book deals with systems possessing a infinite number of degrees in freedom. It discusses the general physical background and concepts of the path integral approach used, followed by a detailed presentation of the most typical and important applications as well as problems with either their solutions or hints how to solve them. It describes in detail various applications, including systems with Grassmann variables. Each chapter is self-contained and can be considered as an independent textbook. The book provides a comprehensive, detailed, and systematic account of the subject suitable for both students and experienced researchers.
"Feynman path integrals are ubiquitous in quantum physics, even if a large part of the scientific community still considers them as a heuristic tool that lacks a sound mathematical definition. Our book aims to refute this prejudice, providing an extensive and self-contained description of the mathematical theory of Feynman path integration, from the earlier attempts to the latest developments, as well as its applications to quantum mechanics. This second edition presents a detailed discussion of the general theory of complex integration on infinite dimensional spaces, providing on one hand a unified view of the various existing approaches to the mathematical construction of Feynman path integrals and on the other hand a connection with the classical theory of stochastic processes. Moreover, new chapters containing recent applications to several dynamical systems have been added. This book bridges between the realms of stochastic analysis and the theory of Feynman path integration. It is accessible to both mathematicians and physicists"--
This book provides a comprehensive treatment of quantum mechanics from a mathematics perspective and is accessible to mathematicians starting with second-year graduate students. It addition to traditional topics, like classical mechanics, mathematical foundations of quantum mechanics, quantization, and the Schrodinger equation, this book gives a mathematical treatment of systems of identical particles with spin, and it introduces the reader to functional methods in quantum mechanics. This includes the Feynman path integral approach to quantum mechanics, integration in functional spaces, the relation between Feynman and Wiener integrals, Gaussian integration and regularized determinants of differential operators, fermion systems and integration over anticommuting (Grassmann) variables, supersymmetry and localization in loop spaces, and supersymmetric derivation of the Atiyah-Singer formula for the index of the Dirac operator. Prior to this book, mathematicians could find these topics only in physics textbooks and in specialized literature. This book is written in a concise style with careful attention to precise mathematics formulation of methods and results.Numerous problems, from routine to advanced, help the reader to master the subject. In addition to providing a fundamental knowledge of quantum mechanics, this book could also serve as a bridge for studying more advanced topics in quantum physics, among them quantum field theory. Prerequisites include standard first-year graduate courses covering linear and abstract algebra, topology and geometry, and real and complex analysis.
This book studies the mathematical aspect of path integrals and Hamiltonians – which emerge from the formulation of quantum mechanics. The theoretical framework of quantum mechanics provides the mathematical tools for studying both quantum indeterminacy and classical randomness . Many problems arising in quantum mechanics as well as in vastly different fields such as finance and economics can be addressed by the mathematics of quantum mechanics, or quantum mathematics in short. All the topics and subjects in the various chapters have been specifically chosen to illustrate the structure of quantum mathematics, and are not tied to any specific discipline, be it quantum mechanics or stochastic systems. The book is divided into the following six parts, in accordance with the Chapter dependency flowchart given below. Part one addresses the Fundamental principles of path integrals and (Hamiltonian) operators and consists of five chapters. Chapter 2 is on the Mathematical structure of quantum mechanics and introduces the mathematical framework that emerges from the quantum principle. Chapters 3 to 6 discuss the mathematical pillars of quantum mathematics, starting from the Feynman path integral, summarizing Hamiltonian mechanics and introducing path integral quantization. Part two is on Stochastic processes . Stochastic systems are dissipative and are shown to be effectively modeled by the path integral. Chapter 7 is focused on the application of quantum mathematics to classical random systems and to stochastic processes.
Abstract This book provides the reader with a contemporary and comprehensive introduction to Quantum Mechanics. It is suitable for beginners as well as for more advanced university students. Quantum mechanics is presented in a pedagogical fashion, with a clear logical organization. The various concepts and methods are introduced first in elementary terms, and later developed into more precise formulations. Systematic studies of approximation methods and the discussion of a wide class of physical applications follow. Part I of the book, together with the opening sections of Part II, provide adequate material for an introductory course of one semester at most universities. The rest of the book might be used in an advanced course on Quantum Mechanics. The basic material is fairly standard, even though some discussions such as those on general systems with time-dependent Hamiltonians, on metastable systems, as well as the discussions in some of the Complement sections, may not be found in other textbooks. The book also contains many original observations or new ways of illustrating even well-known subjects. In fact, the authors wish to convey in this book the sense of wonder in the logical simplicity and at the same time the beauty of subtle and far-reaching consequences of Quantum Mechanics, to young physics students in particular. Problem sets are provided at the end of each chapter, to be solved either analytically or by numerical methods. The solutions to both types of problems are given as separate pdf files or as Mathematica notebooks (there are 88 of them), all together on a CD accompanying the textbook. The presence of such a collection of numerical analyses enriches the main text and is one of the characteristic features of the book. With the many interesting systems discussed, the book will also be a useful reference for researchers and teachers. It provides the reader with a unique, enjoyable and rather complete textbook of Quantum Mechanics, destined to set a new standard for many years to come.
This monograph distills material prepared by the author for class lectures, conferences and research seminars. It fills in a much-felt gap between the older and original work by Feynman and Hibbs and the more recent and advanced volume by Schulman.After presenting an elementary account on the Wiener path integral as applied to Brownian motion, the author progresses on to the statistics of polymers and polymer entanglements. The next three chapters provide an introduction to quantum statistical physics with emphasis on the conceptual understanding of many-variable systems. A chapter on the renormalization group provides material for starting on research work. The final chapter contains an over view of the role of path integrals in recent developments in physics. A good bibliography is provided for each chapter.
Introduction to the Maths and Physics of Quantum Mechanics details the mathematics and physics that are needed to learn the principles of quantum mechanics. It provides an accessible treatment of how to use quantum mechanics and why it is so successful in explaining natural phenomena. This book clarifies various aspects of quantum physics such as ‘why quantum mechanics equations contain “I”, the imaginary number?’, ‘Is it possible to make a transition from classical mechanics to quantum physics without using postulates?’ and ‘What is the origin of the uncertainty principle?’. A significant proportion of discussion is dedicated to the issue of why the wave function must be complex to properly describe our “real” world. The book also addresses the different formulations of quantum mechanics. A relatively simple introductory treatment is given for the “standard” Heisenberg matrix formulation and Schrodinger wave-function formulation and Feynman path integrals and second quantization are then discussed. This book will appeal to first- and second-year university students in physics, mathematics, engineering and other sciences studying quantum mechanics who will find material and clarifications not easily found in other textbooks. It will also appeal to self-taught readers with a genuine interest in modern physics who are willing to examine the mathematics and physics in a simple but rigorous way. Key Features: Written in an engaging and approachable manner, with fully explained mathematics and physics concepts Suitable as a companion to all introductory quantum mechanics textbooks Accessible to a general audience