scholarly journals Path Integral Formulation of Relativistic Quantum Mechanics

Nature ◽  
1962 ◽  
Vol 196 (4852) ◽  
pp. 370-370 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. C. GOODALL
Keyword(s):  
Quantum Mechanics ◽  
Path Integral ◽  
Relativistic Quantum ◽  
Integral Formulation ◽  
Relativistic Quantum Mechanics ◽  
Path Integral Formulation

scholarly journals PATH INTEGRATION IN RELATIVISTIC QUANTUM MECHANICS

1993 ◽  
Vol 08 (09) ◽  
pp. 1629-1635 ◽  
Author(s):  
IAN H. REDMOUNT ◽  
WAI-MO SUEN
Keyword(s):  
Path Integral ◽  
Light Cone ◽  
Proper Time ◽  
Relativistic Quantum ◽  
Free Particle ◽  
Wkb Approximation ◽  
Relativistic Quantum Mechanics ◽  
Path Integral Formulation ◽  
Quantum Theories ◽  
Short Time

The simple physics of a free particle reveals important features of the path-integral formulation of relativistic quantum theories. The exact quantum-mechanical propagator is calculated here for a particle described by the simple relativistic action proportional to its proper time. This propagator is nonvanishing outside the light cone, implying that spacelike trajectories must be included in the path integral. The propagator matches the WKB approximation to the corresponding configuration-space path integral far from the light cone; outside the light cone that approximation consists of the contribution from a single spacelike geodesic. This propagator also has the unusual property that its short-time limit does not coincide with the WKB approximation, making the construction of a concrete skeletonized version of the path integral more complicated than in nonrelativistic theory.

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