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Russian Journal of Mathematical Physics

Semi-Classical Limit and Least Action Principle Revisited with (min,+) Path Integral and Action-Particle Duality

Abdelouahab Kenoufi, Michel Gondran, Alexandre Gondran

Published Jan 1, 2020• 2 citations
Publisher

Abstract

One shows that the Feynman’s Path Integral designed for quantum mechanics has an analogous in classical mechanics, the so-called (min, +) Path Integral. This former is build on (min, +)-algebra and (min, +)-analysis which permit to handle in a linear way non-linear problems occurring in mathematical physics. The Hamilton-Jacobi equations and their solutions within this mathematical framework, are introduced and yield to a new interpretation expressed in a duality between action field and particle.

DOI
10.1134/s1061920820010069

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One shows that the Feynman’s Path Integral designed for quantum mechanics has an analogous in classical mechanics, the so-called (min, +) Path Integral. This former is build on (min, +)-algebra and (min, +)-analysis which permit to handle in a linear way non-linear problems occurring in mathematical physics. The Hamilton-Jacobi equations and their solutions within this mathematical framework, are introduced and yield to a new interpretation expressed in a duality between action field and particle.
In this paper, we show that the difficulties of interpretation of the principle of least action concerning "final causes" or "efficient causes" are due to the existence of two different actions, the "Euler-Lagrange action" (or classical action) and the "Hamilton-Jacobi action". These two actions, which are not clearly differentiated in the texbooks, are solutions to the same Hamilton-Jacobi equation, but with very different initial conditions: smooth conditions for the Hamilton-Jacobi action, singular conditions for the Euler-Lagrange action. There are related by the Minplus Path Integral which is the analog in classical mechanics of the Feynmann Path Integral in quantum mechanics. Finally, we propose a clear-cut interpretation of the principle of least action: the Hamilton-Jacobi action does not use "final causes" and seems to be the action used by Nature; the Euler-Lagrange action uses "final causes" and is the action used by an observer to retrospectively determine the trajectory of the particle.
It is shown that the complex phase of the Feynman propagator is a solution of the quantum Hamilton–Jacobi equation, namely, it is the quantum Hamilton's principal function (or quantum action). Therefore, the Feynman propagator can be computed either by means of the path integration, or by the way of the Hamilton–Jacobi equation. This is analogous to what happens in classical mechanics, where the Hamilton's principal function can be computed either by integrating the Lagrangian along the extremal paths, or as a solution of partial differential equation, namely the classical Hamilton–Jacobi equation. If the path is decomposed in the classical one and quantum fluctuations, the contribution of these quantum fluctuations satisfies a non-linear partial differential equation, whose coefficients depend on the classical action. When the contribution of the quantum fluctuations depend only on the time, it can be computed by means of a simple integration. The final results for the propagators in this case are equal to the Van Vleck–Pauli–Morette expressions, even though the two derivations are quite different. Quanta 2023; 12: 22–26.
Abstract The Hamilton-Jacobi theory is the apotheosis of Lagrangian and Hamiltonian mechanics: action functions encode all of the possible trajectories of a mechanical system satisfying certain criteria. These action functions are the solutions of a nonlinear, first-order partial differential equation, called the Hamilton-Jacobi equation. The characteristic equations of this differential equation are the extended Hamilton equations. Solution of a class of mechanics problems is thus reduced to the solution of a single partial differential equation. Aside from its use as a problem-solving tool, the Hamilton-Jacobi theory has particular importance because of its close relation to the Schroedinger formulation of quantum mechanics. This chapter discusses the connection between the Hamilton-Jacobi theory and the Schroedinger formulation, the Bohm hidden variable model and Feynman path integral method that are derived from it, Hamilton’s characteristic equations, complete integrals, separation of variables, canonical transformations, general integrals, mono-energetic integrals, relativistic Hamilton-Jacobi equation, quantum Cauchy problem, quantum mechanics, and classical mechanics.
Through a very careful analysis of Dirac's 1932 paper on the Lagrangian in Quantum Mechanics as well as the second and third editions of his classic book {\it The Principles of Quantum Mechanics}, I show that Dirac's contributions to the birth of the path-integral approach to quantum mechanics is not restricted to just his seminal demonstration of how Lagrangians appear naturally in quantum mechanics, but that Dirac should be credited for creating a path-integral which I call {\it Dirac path-integral} which is far more general than Feynman's while possessing all its desirable features. On top of it, the Dirac path-integral is fully compatible with the inevitable quantisation ambiguities, while the Feynman path-integral can never have that full consistency. In particular, I show that the claim by Feynman that for infinitesimal time intervals, what Dirac thought were analogues were actually proportional can not be correct always. I have also shown the conection between Dirac path-integrals and the Schrödinger equation. In particular, it is shown that each choice of Dirac path-integral yields a {\it quantum Hamiltonian} that is generically different from what the Feynman path-integral gives, and that all of them have the same {\it classical analogue}. Dirac's method of demonstrating the least action principle for classical mechanics generalizes in a most straightforward way to all the generalized path-integrals.
This paper explores the profound connection between the Eikonal principle, primarily known in optics for describing wavefront propagation, and the Hamilton-Jacobi formulation of classical mechanics. We explicitly demonstrate how the Hamilton-Jacobi equation, a powerful partial differential equation that unifies various aspects of classical dynamics, naturally gives rise to an Eikonal-like behavior when considering the surfaces of constant action. By drawing an explicit analogy between the optical path length and Hamilton's principal function, we show that the trajectories of particles in classical mechanics can be interpreted as "rays" that are orthogonal to these propagating "wavefronts" of constant action in configuration space. This framework provides an elegant geometric interpretation of classical mechanics, where the evolution of a system is described by the propagation of a scalar field. The paper elucidates how the principle of least action, a cornerstone of classical mechanics, finds its optical counterpart in Fermat's principle of least time, thereby achieving a deeper, unified understanding of these seemingly disparate physical phenomena. This unification not only offers a powerful method for solving complex mechanical problems but also provides conceptual insights bridging classical wave theory and particle dynamics, laying foundational groundwork for quantum mechanics.