Linked Questions

3 votes
1 answer
5k views

Why is the propagator the Green's function for Schrodinger equation? [duplicate]

Sakurai says (in various editions) that the propagator is simply the Green's function for the time-dependent wave equation satisfying $$\begin{align}&\left [ -\frac{\hbar^2}{2m} \triangledown ''^2+...
William Huang's user avatar
128 votes
3 answers
28k views

Differentiating Propagator, Green's function, Correlation function, etc

For the following quantities respectively, could someone write down the common definitions, their meaning, the field of study in which one would typically find these under their actual name, and most ...
Nikolaj-K's user avatar
  • 8,693
19 votes
1 answer
4k views

Dirac Delta in definition of Green function

For a inhomogeneous differential equation of the following form $$\hat{L}u(x) = \rho(x) ,$$ the general solution may be written in terms of the Green function, $$u(x) = \int dx' G(x;x')\rho(x'),$$ ...
WoofDoggy's user avatar
  • 2,150
27 votes
2 answers
15k views

How exactly is the propagator a Green's function for the Schrodinger equation?

Sakurai mentions (in various editions) that the propagator is a Green's function for the Schrodinger equation because it solves $$\begin{align}&\left(H-i\hbar\frac{\partial}{\partial t}\right)K(x,...
Kasper's user avatar
  • 2,010
7 votes
2 answers
634 views

Equivalence of second-quantized Schrödinger field and its first-quantized path integral formulation

I was recently learning about the the second quantization of the Schrödinger field, and naturally got interested in how it aligns with the field theoretic path integral. So just as a short ...
jabru's user avatar
  • 541
2 votes
1 answer
1k views

Harmonic Oscillator propagator

I'm reading the book on Quantum Field Theory by Anthony Duncan, and I'm a little lost with something of propagators. He first define the propagator $K(q_f,T;q_i,0)$ as the amplitude of detecting a ...
Jasimud's user avatar
  • 622
7 votes
1 answer
2k views

Feynman's derivation of the Schrödinger equation

I'm reading the following article: Feynman's derivation of the Schrödinger equation In this article, the autor claims that Feynman derivation of the Schrödinger equation was a key aspect of the ...
Keith's user avatar
  • 738
0 votes
1 answer
1k views

Checking that the propagator for Harmonic Oscillator satisfies Schroedinger Equation [closed]

I have the propagator for the harmonic oscillator. $$K(x_f,x_0,t)=\sqrt{\frac{m\omega}{2 \pi \hbar \sin{wt}}}\exp\left(\frac{i}{\hbar}\frac{m\omega}{2 \sin{\omega t}}((x_0^2+x_f^2)\cos\omega t-...
Trajan's user avatar
  • 895
6 votes
2 answers
990 views

Is the path integral amplitude a wavefunction?

The probability amplitude for a particle to travel from $\mathbf{x}_i $ to $\mathbf{x}_f$ in a time $t$ is given by the path integral $$ \langle \mathbf{x}_f | e^{-iHt} |\mathbf{x}_i \rangle = \int \...
Hermitian_hermit's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
818 views

Deriving the Lagrangian form of the Feynman path integral through Gaussian integration

The hamiltonian form of the path integral for the time evolution of a single particle in one dimension (in non-relativistic quantum mechanics) is: $$\langle x|\hat U(t_2,t_1)|x'\rangle=\int \mathcal ...
Sahand Tabatabaei's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
660 views

How to understand the kernel as a transition amplitude?

Consider the time evolution operator $U(t_f, t_i)$ that controls the evolution of a wave function according to $|\psi(t_f \rangle = U(t_f, t_i) | \psi(t_i) \rangle$. As I understand it, the Born ...
seeker_after_truth's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
319 views

Mysterious factor 2 in the Schrödinger equation derived from Feynman's Kernel

Feynman's Quantum Mechanics and Path Integral has a vivid physical interpretation of the path integral formalism. But I was stumbled on some mathematical details while following his derivation of the ...
Lonitch's user avatar
  • 137
1 vote
1 answer
343 views

Propagator in Path Integral Quantum Mechanism as Green Function of Schrodinger Equation

I'm studying in Ryder's book of QFT. I'm dealing with QM in the path integral approach and he is trying to prove that the propagator $K(x_f t_f;x_i t_i)$ is the Green function of the Schrodinger (S.) ...
TheoPhy's user avatar
  • 910
0 votes
1 answer
157 views

Green's functions co-incidentally appearing in the path integral of relativistic free particle action

When you compute the path integral of the relativistic free particle action, it's turns out to be the same as the Green's function of a classical field. This co-incidence is huge because it derives, ...
Ryder Rude's user avatar
  • 6,790
5 votes
1 answer
122 views

What is the meaning of the function of $x$ and $p$ that you get when you cut open the phase space path integral?

When we "cut" an ordinary path integral, we obtain a state in the position representation. That is, if we fix some initial position $x_i$, then the path integral $$\int_{x_i}^{x_f}Dx e^{-S}$$...
nodumbquestions's user avatar

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