A differential Galois approach to path integrals

Abstract

We point out the relevance of the differential Galois theory of linear differential equations for the exact semiclassical computations in path integrals in quantum mechanics. The main tool will be a necessary condition for complete integrability of classical Hamiltonian systems obtained by Ramis and myself [Morales-Ruiz and Ramis, Methods Appl. Anal. 8, 33–96 (2001); see also Morales-Ruiz, in Differential Galois Theory and Non-Integrability of Hamiltonian Systems, Modern Birkhäuser Classics (Springer, Basel, 1999)]; if a finite dimensional complex analytical Hamiltonian system is completely integrable with meromorphic first integrals, then the identity component of the Galois group of the variational equation around any integral curve must be abelian. A corollary of this result is that, for finite dimensional integrable Hamiltonian systems, the semiclassical approach is computable in a closed form in the framework of the differential Galois theory. This explains in a very precise way the success of quantum semiclassical computations for integrable Hamiltonian systems.