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Journal of Mathematical Physics

Complex Time, Contour Independent Path Integrals, and Barrier Penetration

David W. McLaughlin

Published Aug 1, 1972• 153 citations
Publisher

Abstract

By developing an analogy between the Feynman path integral and contour integral representations of the special functions, we obtain WKB formulas for barrier penetration from a path integral. We first show that there exists for the path integral a notion of contour independence in the time parameter. We then select an appropriate contour to describe the physical situation of barrier penetration and obtain asymptotic formulas from the function space integral. The method is interpreted as a path integral derivation of the complex ray description of barrier penetration. In the last three sections we investigate several canonical problems of the theory of complex rays with these path integral techniques.

DOI
10.1063/1.1666102

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By developing an analogy between the Feynman path integral and contour integral representations of the special functions, we obtain WKB formulas for barrier penetration from a path integral. We first show that there exists for the path integral a notion of contour independence in the time parameter. We then select an appropriate contour to describe the physical situation of barrier penetration and obtain asymptotic formulas from the function space integral. The method is interpreted as a path integral derivation of the complex ray description of barrier penetration. In the last three sections we investigate several canonical problems of the theory of complex rays with these path integral techniques.
The authors show how complex paths can be consistently introduced into sums over Feynman histories by using the notion of functional contour integration. For a k-dimensional system specified by a potential with suitable analyticity properties, each coordinate axis is replaced by a copy of the complex plane, and at each instant of time a contour is chosen in each plane. This map from the time axis into the set of complex contours defines a functional contour. The family of contours labelled by time generates a (k+1)-dimensional submanifold of the (2k+1)-dimensional space defined by the cartesian product of the time axis and the coordinate planes. The complex Feynman paths lie on this submanifold. The convergence problems encountered in previous proposals for complex path integrals are avoided by the requirement that each contour is asymptotically pinched to the real coordinate axis. An application of this idea to systems described by absorptive potentials yields a simple derivation of the correct WKB result in terms of a complex path that extremalises the action. The method can also be applied to spherically symmetric potentials by using a partial wave expansion and restricting the contours appropriately.
When a boundary value problem in classical mechanics has no solution, the corresponding quantum propagator may be asymptotically dominated by locally flawed classical paths. We indicate how this assertion can be made precise and show how one calculates the propagator under these circumstances. The essential tools in our arguments will be the use of neutralizers and the path decomposition formula for path integrals. With this method the propagator for barrier penetration is expressed as an integral over real tunneling time, defined as the interval between first striking the barrier and last emerging from it. 14 refs., 3 figs.
The complex-time formalism is developed in the framework of the path-integral formalism, to be used for analysis of the quantum tunneling phenomena. We show that subleading complex-time saddle-points do not account for the right WKB result. Instead, we develop a reduction formula, which enables us to construct Green functions from simple components of the potential, for which saddle-point method is applicable. This method leads us to the valid WKB result, which incorporates imaginary-time instantons and bounces, as well as the real-time boundary conditions.
It is widely believed that the WKB approximation to quantum barrier penetration is described in the path-integral formalism by a saddle-point approximation based on an expansion about an imaginary-time semiclassical path. This article examines the relationship between tunneling amplitudes and imaginary-time paths. It is shown, using a simple example, that for some tunneling amplitudes the dominant semiclassical path cannot be chosen to have purely imaginary time if all other variables are chosen to be real.
We derive a local-time path-integral representation for a generic one-dimensional time-independent system. In particular, we show how to rephrase the matrix elements of the Bloch density matrix as a path integral over x-dependent local-time profiles. The latter quantify the time that the sample paths x(t) in the Feynman path integral spend in the vicinity of an arbitrary point x. Generalization of the local-time representation that includes arbitrary functionals of the local time is also provided. We argue that the results obtained represent a powerful alternative to the traditional Feynman-Kac formula, particularly in the high- and low-temperature regimes. To illustrate this point, we apply our local-time representation to analyze the asymptotic behavior of the Bloch density matrix at low temperatures. Further salient issues, such as connections with the Sturm-Liouville theory and the Rayleigh-Ritz variational principle, are also discussed.