Feynman path integral

E21993

The Feynman path integral is a formulation of quantum mechanics in which a particle’s behavior is described as a sum over all possible paths it can take, each weighted by a phase factor derived from the classical action.


Statements (47)
Predicate Object
instanceOf formulation of quantum mechanics
path integral formulation
quantum theory formalism
alsoKnownAs Feynman sum-over-paths
sum-over-histories formulation
appliesTo nonrelativistic quantum mechanics
quantum statistical mechanics
relativistic quantum field theory
statistical field theory
basedOn principle of least action
describes quantum evolution as a sum over all possible paths
domain mathematical physics
theoretical physics
equivalentTo Heisenberg operator formulation of quantum mechanics
Schrödinger formulation of quantum mechanics
generalizes classical action principle
hasIssue mathematical rigor of the path integral measure
historicallyDevelopedBy Richard Feynman
influenced modern quantum field theory
string theory
topological quantum field theory
introducedInContext quantum electrodynamics
mathematicallyFormulatedAs integral over all paths weighted by exp(iS/ħ)
namedAfter Richard Feynman
relatedTo Euclidean path integral
Hamiltonian path integral
Wick rotation
canonical quantization
requires measure over path space
usedFor Euclidean quantum field theory
deriving Feynman rules
deriving propagators
instantons and tunneling calculations
lattice gauge theory formulations
perturbation theory in quantum field theory
quantization of gauge theories
semiclassical approximations
usedIn derivation of Feynman diagrams
path integral Monte Carlo methods
usesConcept Green’s function
Lagrangian
classical action
functional integral
path in configuration space
phase factor
propagator
weightFactor exp(iS/ħ)

Referenced by (6)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
Feynman path integral ("Feynman sum-over-paths")
alsoKnownAs
Dyson’s proof of equivalence of Feynman and Schwinger–Tomonaga formulations of QED ("Feynman formulation of QED")
demonstratesEquivalenceOf
The Grand Design ("Feynman path integral formulation")
explains
The Universe in a Nutshell ("Feynman path integrals")
explainsConcept
Feynman checkerboard model
relatedTo
quantum field theory ("path integral formulation")
usesConcept

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