Diffraction in the semiclassical approximation to Feynman's path integral representation of the Green function

DOI10.1016/J.AOP.2004.06.003MaRDI QIDQ1879754zbMATH OpenOpenAlexFDO

Authors Martin Schaden, Larry Spruch

Publication date 23 September 2004

Published in Annals of Physics (Search for Journal in Brave)

Full work available at URL https://arxiv.org/abs/cond-mat/0304290

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Green's functions for ordinary differential equations (34B27) Semiclassical techniques, including WKB and Maslov methods applied to problems in quantum theory (81Q20) Feynman integrals and graphs; applications of algebraic topology and algebraic geometry (81Q30) Path integrals in quantum mechanics (81S40)

Abstract: We derive the semiclassical approximation to Feynman's path integral representation of the energy Green function of a massless particle in the shadow region of an ideal obstacle in a medium. The wavelength of the particle is assumed to be comparable to or smaller than any relevant length of the problem. Classical paths with extremal length partially creep along the obstacle and their fluctuations are subject to non-holonomic constraints. If the medium is a vacuum, the asymptotic contribution from a single classical path of overall length L to the energy Green function at energy E is that of a non-relativistic particle of mass E/c^2 moving in the two-dimensional space orthogonal to the classical path for a time au=L/c. Dirichlet boundary conditions at the surface of the obstacle constrain the motion of the particle to the exterior half-space and result in an effective time-dependent but spatially constant force that is inversely proportional to the radius of curvature of the classical path. We relate the diffractive, classically forbidden motion in the "creeping" case to the classically allowed motion in the "whispering gallery" case by analytic continuation in the curvature of the classical path. The non-holonomic constraint implies that the surface of the obstacle becomes a zero-dimensional caustic of the particle's motion. We solve this problem for extremal rays with piecewise constant curvature and provide uniform asymptotic expressions that are approximately valid in the penumbra as well as in the deep shadow of a sphere.

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Cites work

• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 108036 (Why is no real title available?)
• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 3273551 (Why is no real title available?)
• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 3282537 (Why is no real title available?)
• Chaos in classical and quantum mechanics
• Geometrical Acoustics. II. Diffraction, Reflection, and Refraction of a Weak Spherical or Cylindrical Shock at a Plane Interface
• Penumbra diffraction in the semiclassical quantization of concave billiards
• The Feynman Integral
• The Influence of Retardation on the London-van der Waals Forces

Cited in

(3)

• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 3876326 (Why is no real title available?)
• Geometrical theory of diffracted rays, orbiting and complex rays
• WKB propagators in position and momentum space for a linear potential with a `ceiling' boundary

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