Exact Path Integrals by Equivariant Cohomology

We review equivariant localization techniques for the evaluation of Feynman path integrals. We develop systematic geometric methods for studying the semi-classical properties of phase space path integrals for dynamical systems, emphasizing the relations with integrable and topological quantum field theories. Beginning with a detailed review of the relevant mathematical background -- equivariant cohomology and the Duistermaat-Heckman theorem, we demonstrate how the localizatio...

We briefly review a hamiltonian path integral formalism developed earlier by one of us. An important feature of this formalism is that the path integral quantization in arbitrary co-ordinates is set up making use of only classical hamiltonian without addition of adhoc $\hbar^2$ terms. In this paper we use this hamiltonian formalism and show how exact path integration may be done for several potentials.

Inspired by the usefulness of local scaling of time in the path integral formalism, we introduce a new kind of hamiltonian path integral in this paper. A special case of this new type of path integral has been earlier found useful in formulating a scheme of hamiltonian path integral quantization in arbitrary coordinates. This scheme has the unique feature that quantization in arbitrary co-ordinates requires hamiltonian path integral to be set up in terms of the classical hami...

Path integrals represent a powerful route to quantization: they calculate probabilities by summing over classical configurations of variables such as fields, assigning each configuration a phase equal to the action of that configuration. This paper defines a universal path integral, which sums over all computable structures. This path integral contains as sub-integrals all possible computable path integrals, including those of field theory, the standard model of elementary pa...

Equivariant localization theory is a powerful tool that has been extensively used in the past thirty years to elegantly obtain exact integration formulas, in both mathematics and physics. These integration formulas are proved within the mathematical formalism of equivariant cohomology, a variant of standard cohomology theory that incorporates the presence of a symmetry group acting on the space at hand. A suitable infinite-dimensional generalization of this formalism is appli...

Path integrals are a central tool when it comes to describing quantum or thermal fluctuations of particles or fields. Their success dates back to Feynman who showed how to use them within the framework of quantum mechanics. Since then, path integrals have pervaded all areas of physics where fluctuation effects, quantum and/or thermal, are of paramount importance. Their appeal is based on the fact that one converts a problem formulated in terms of operators into one of samplin...

Certain phase space path integrals can be evaluated exactly using equivariant cohomology and localization in the canonical loop space. Here we extend this to a general class of models. We consider hamiltonians which are {\it a priori} arbitrary functions of the Cartan subalgebra generators of a Lie group which is defined on the phase space. We evaluate the corresponding path integral and find that it is closely related to the infinitesimal Lefschetz number of a Dirac operator...

We study equivariant localization formulas for phase space path integrals when the phase space is a multiply connected compact Riemann surface. We consider the Hamiltonian systems to which the localization formulas are applicable and show that the localized partition function for such systems is a topological invariant which represents the non-trivial homology classes of the phase space. We explicitly construct the coherent states in the canonical quantum theory and show that...

A general path integral analysis of the separable Hamiltonian of Liouville-type is reviewed. The basic dynamical principle used is the Jacobi's principle of least action for given energy which is reparametrization invariant, and thus the gauge freedom naturally appears. The choice of gauge in path integral corresponds to the separation of variables in operator formalism. The gauge independence and the operator ordering are closely related. The path integral in this formulatio...

Using the generalized coherent states we argue that the path integral formulae for $SU(2)$ and $SU(1,1)$ (in the discrete series) are WKB exact,if the starting point is expressed as the trace of $e^{-iT\hat H}$ with $\hat H$ being given by a linear combination of generators. In our case,WKB approximation is achieved by taking a large ``spin'' limit: $J,K\rightarrow \infty$. The result is obtained directly by knowing that the each coefficient vanishes under the $J^{-1}$($K^{-1...