Coherent state path integrals in the Weyl representation
/ Authors
/ Abstract
We construct a representation of the coherent state path integral using the Weyl symbol of the Hamiltonian operator. This representation is very different from the usual path integral forms suggested by Klauder and Skagerstam (1985 Coherent States: Applications in Physics and Mathematical Physics (Singapore: World Scientific)), which involve the normal or the antinormal ordering of the Hamiltonian. These different representations, although equivalent quantum mechanically, lead to different semiclassical limits. We show that the semiclassical limit of the coherent state propagator in the Weyl representation involves classical trajectories that are independent of the width of coherent states. This propagator is also free from the phase corrections found in Baranger et al (2001 J. Phys. A: Math. Gen. 34 7227) for the two Klauder forms and provides an explicit connection between the Wigner and the Husimi representations of the evolution operator.
Journal: Journal of Physics A