Existence of real time quantum path integrals

Abstract

Many interesting physical theories have analytic classical actions. We show how Feynman’s path integral may be defined non-perturbatively, for such theories, without a Wick rotation to imaginary time. We start by introducing a class of smooth regulators which render interference integrals absolutely convergent and thus unambiguous. The analyticity of the regulators allows us to use Cauchy’s theorem to deform the integration domain onto a set of relevant, complex “thimbles” (or generalized steepest descent contours) each associated with a classical saddle. The regulator can then be removed to obtain an exact, non-perturbative representation. We show why the usual method of gradient flow, used to identify relevant saddles and steepest descent “thimbles” for finite-dimensional oscillatory integrals, fails in the infinite-dimensional case. For the troublesome high frequency modes, we replace it with a method we call “eigenflow” which we employ to identify the infinite-dimensional, complex “eigenthimble” over which the real time path integral is absolutely convergent. We then bound the path integral over high frequency modes by the corresponding Wiener measure for a free particle. Using the dominated convergence theorem we infer that the interacting path integral defines a good measure. While the real time path integral is more intricate than its Euclidean counterpart, it is superior in several respects. It seems particularly well-suited to theories such as quantum gravity where the classical theory is well developed but the Euclidean path integral does not exist.