Rate of convergence of Feynman approximations of semigroups generated by the oscillator Hamiltonian

Abstract

We determine the rate with which finitely multiple approximations in the Feynman formula converge to the exact expression for the equilibrium density operator of a harmonic oscillator in the linear τ-quantization. We obtain an explicit analytic expression for a finitely multiple approximation of the equilibrium density operator and the related Wigner function. We show that in the class of τ-quantizations, the equilibrium Wigner function of a harmonic oscillator is positive definite only in the case of the Weyl quantization.