An introduction to quantum mechanics based on the sum-over-paths (SOP) method originated by Richard P Feynman and developed by E F Taylor and coworkers is presented. The Einstein-Brillouin-Keller (EBK) semiclassical quantization rules are obtained following the SOP approach for bounded systems, and a general approach to the calculation of propagation amplitude is discussed for unbounded systems. These semiclassical results are obtained when the SOP is limited to the trajectories classically allowed. EBK semiclassical quantization and the topological Maslov index are used to deduce the correct quantum mechanical results for systems which live in a two-dimensional world as quantum dots and quantum rings. In the latter systems, the semiclassical propagation amplitude is used to discuss the Aharonov-Bohm effect. The development involves only elementary calculus and also provides a theoretical introduction to the quantum nature of low-dimensional nanostructures.
An introduction to quantum mechanics based on the sum-over-paths (SOP) method originated by Richard P Feynman and developed by E F Taylor and coworkers is presented. The Einstein-Brillouin-Keller (EBK) semiclassical quantization rules are obtained following the SOP approach for bounded systems, and a general approach to the calculation of propagation amplitude is discussed for unbounded systems. These semiclassical results are obtained when the SOP is limited to the trajectories classically allowed. EBK semiclassical quantization and the topological Maslov index are used to deduce the correct quantum mechanical results for systems which live in a two-dimensional world as quantum dots and quantum rings. In the latter systems, the semiclassical propagation amplitude is used to discuss the Aharonov-Bohm effect. The development involves only elementary calculus and also provides a theoretical introduction to the quantum nature of low-dimensional nanostructures.
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 examine the semiclassical limit of the quantum energy spectrum in many dimensions: by means of a WKB-like ansatz leading to Einstein-Brillouin-Keller (EBK) quantization, by means of a path integral, hence associating a bound state with a particular classical periodic trajectory, and by the Birkhoff-Gustavson (BG) transformation to action-angle variables. We extend the EBK method to many-fermion systems using coherent states; and apply both EBK using surfaces of section, and the BG transformation to an SU(3) schematic nuclear shell model. We describe a new algorithm for finding periodic trajectories of a Lagrangian system with polynomial potential. It is applied to the Henon-Heiles system with good results, and these trajectories are used to quantize the system. The EBK and BG methods have some success, while periodic trajectory quantization fails. We discuss possible reasons for this failure and future approaches to these problems.
The aim of this chapter is to introduce the concept of the Feynman path integral. As well as developing the general construction scheme, particular emphasis is placed on establishing the interconnections between the quantum mechanical path integral, classical Hamiltonian mechanics, and classical statistical mechanics. The practice of path integration is discussed in the context of several pedagogical applications. As well as the canonical examples of a quantum particle in a single and a double potential well, we discuss the generalization of the path integral scheme to tunneling of extended objects (quantum fields), dissipative and thermally assisted quantum tunneling, and the quantum mechanical spin. In this chapter we will temporarily leave the arena of many-body physics and second quantization and, at least superficially, return to single-particle quantum mechanics. By establishing the path integral approach for ordinary quantum mechanics, we will set the stage for the introduction of functional field integral methods for many-body theories explored in the next chapter. We will see that the path integral not only represents a gateway to higher-dimensional functional integral methods but, when viewed from an appropriate perspective, already represents a field theoretical approach in its own right. Exploiting this connection, various techniques and concepts of field theory, namely stationary phase analyses of functional integrals, the Euclidean formulation of field theory, instanton techniques, and the role of topological concepts in field theory, will be motivated and introduced in this chapter.
The aim of this chapter is to introduce the concept of the Feynman path integral. As well as developing the general construction scheme, particular emphasis is placed on establishing the interconnections between the quantum mechanical path integral, classical Hamiltonian mechanics, and classical statistical mechanics. The practice of path integration is discussed in the context of several pedagogical applications. As well as the canonical examples of a quantum particle in a single and a double potential well, we discuss the generalization of the path integral scheme to tunneling of extended objects (quantum fields), dissipative and thermally assisted quantum tunneling, and the quantum mechanical spin. In this chapter we temporarily leave the arena of many-body physics and second quantization and, at least superficially, return to single-particle quantum mechanics. By establishing the path integral approach for ordinary quantum mechanics, we will set the stage for the introduction of field integral methods for many-body theories explored in the next chapter. We will see that the path integral not only represents a gateway to higher-dimensional functional integral methods but, when viewed from an appropriate perspective, already represents a field theoretical approach in its own right. Exploiting this connection, various concepts of field theory, namely stationary phase analysis, the Euclidean formulation of field theory, instanton techniques, and the role of topology in field theory, are introduced in this chapter. The path integral: general formalism Broadly speaking, there are two approaches to the formulation of quantum mechanics: the “operator approach” based on the canonical quantization of physical observables and the associated operator algebra, and the Feynman path integral.
The semiclassical approximation for a quantum amplitude is given by the sum of contributions from intersections of the appropriate manifolds in classical phase space. The intersection overlaps are just the Van Vleck determinants multiplied by a phase given by a classical action. Here we consider two nonstandard instances of this semiclassical prescription which would appear to be on shaky ground, yet the corresponding physical situations are not unusual. The first case involves momentum-space WKB theory for scattering potentials; the second is a propagator for the whisker map that arises in generic two-dimensional systems. In the former case two manifolds become asymptotically tangent, and the semiclassical formula needs to be uniformized in order to give a meaningful wave function. We give a uniformization procedure. In the latter case, there are an infinite number of intersections in phase space within a zone with the area of Planck's constant (the limit of resolution for quantum mechanics), yet the semiclassical sum over all contributions is shown to be correct.