A physical basis for the phase in Feynman path integration

Ord, G. N.; Gualtieri, J. A.; Mann, R. B.

A physical basis for the phase in Feynman path integration

Authors

Ord, G. N.

Gualtieri, J. A.

Mann, R. B.

Description

In the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the phase factor Exp[iS(x[t])] is associated with every path x[t]. Summing this factor over all paths yields Feynman's propagator as a sum-over-paths. In the original formulation, the complex phase was a mathematical device invoked to extract wave behaviour in a particle framework. In this paper we show that the phase itself can have a physical origin in time reversal, and that the propagator can be drawn by a single deterministic path.
4 pages, 4 figures