Techniques and Applications of Path Integration (Dover Books on Physics)

L. S. Schulman

ISBN 10: 0486445283 / ISBN 13: 9780486445281

Published by Dover Pubns, 2005

About this Item

416 pages. 8.25x5.25x1.00 inches. In Stock. Seller Inventory # __0486445283

Bibliographic Details

Title: Techniques and Applications of Path ...

Publisher: Dover Pubns

Publication Date: 2005

Binding: Paperback

Condition: Brand New

About this title

Synopsis:

A book of techniques and applications, this text defines the path integral and illustrates its uses by example. It is suitable for advanced undergraduates and graduate students in physics; its sole prerequisite is a first course in quantum mechanics. For applications requiring specialized knowledge, the author supplies background material.
The first part of the book develops the techniques of path integration. Topics include probability amplitudes for paths and the correspondence limit for the path integral; vector potentials; the Ito integral and gauge transformations; free particle and quadratic Lagrangians; properties of Green's functions and the Feynman-Kac formula; functional derivatives and commutation relations; Brownian motion and the Wiener integral; and perturbation theory and Feynman diagrams.
The second part, dealing with applications, covers asymptotic analysis and the calculus of variations; the WKB approximation and near caustics; the phase of the semiclassical amplitude; scattering theory; and geometrical optics. Additional topics include the polaron; path integrals for multiply connected spaces; quantum mechanics on curved spaces; relativistic propagators and black holes; applications to statistical mechanics; systems with random impurities; instantons and metastability; renormalization and scaling for critical phenomena; and the phase space path integral.