Finding Feynman's propagator

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In summary, the form of Feynman's propagator provides information about the evolution of a system from one state to another over time, with the phase factor being a symmetry and the term in the square root depending on the difference in positions.
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Morgoth
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Well I am doing an assignment concerning methods of finding Feynman's propagator.

I understand pretty well how everything's coming up. I also get that the form:
<x'',t'|x',0> defined as Feynman's propagator gives the amplitude of a system initially being in state |x',0> to be in |x'',t> after time t.

What I don't get is after you use Schwinger's Method to calculate Feynman's propagator for the Harmonic Oscilator you end up in a form:
<x'',t'|x',0>=SQRT[mω/2πihsin(ωt)] * exp{ (imω/2hsin(ωt))* [(x''^2- x'^2)cos(ωt)-2x''x'] }

(Sorry for the not beautiful formula).

In fact I cannot understand what kind of information the above form gives us.
+
For the amplitude the change of x''->x' and x'->x'' would be a symmetry since they are both into the exp[if] which is just a phase factor?

Can anyone give me an idea? Thanks
 
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  • #2
.The form of the propagator gives us information about how the system evolves from one state to another over time. The exp[if] factor is a phase factor, so it does not change the magnitude of the amplitude, but just the phase. However, the term in the square root does depend on the difference between x'' and x', so the magnitude of the amplitude will change based on the difference in positions. This gives us an idea of how the system is evolving from one position to another over time.
 

Related to Finding Feynman's propagator

1. What is Feynman's propagator?

Feynman's propagator is a mathematical concept used in quantum field theory to describe the probability amplitude for a particle to travel from one point to another in spacetime.

2. Why is it important to find Feynman's propagator?

Finding Feynman's propagator allows us to calculate the probability of a particle's interaction with other particles and fields, which is crucial in understanding and predicting the behavior of quantum systems.

3. How is Feynman's propagator calculated?

Feynman's propagator is calculated using the Feynman path integral, which involves summing over all possible paths a particle can take between two points in spacetime.

4. What challenges are faced in finding Feynman's propagator?

One of the main challenges in finding Feynman's propagator is dealing with the infinite number of possible paths that particles can take, making the calculations extremely complex and time-consuming.

5. How has the search for Feynman's propagator contributed to our understanding of quantum mechanics?

The search for Feynman's propagator has led to the development of important mathematical techniques and theories in quantum field theory, such as the Feynman diagrams and the path integral formulation, which have greatly advanced our understanding of the fundamental principles of quantum mechanics.

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