Path Integral Treatment of Singular Problems and Bound States: Quantum Mechanics

Abstract

A path-integral approach for the computation of quantum-mechanical propagators and energy Green's functions is presented. Its effectiveness is demonstrated through its application to singular interactions, with particular emphasis on the inverse square potential--possibly combined with a delta-function interaction. The emergence of these singular potentials as low-energy nonrelativistic limits of quantum field theory is highlighted. Not surprisingly, the analogue of ultraviolet regularization is required for the interpretation of these singular problems.

Comments: 32 pages. The paper was significantly expanded and numerous equations were added for the sake of clarity; the main results and conclusions are unchanged