Path Integrals

This book proves that Feynman's original definition of the path integral actually converges to the fundamental solution of the Schrödinger equation at least in the short term if the potential is differentiable sufficiently many times and its derivatives of order equal to or higher than two are bounded. The semi-classical asymptotic formula up to the second term of the fundamental solution is also proved by a method different from that of Birkhoff.

The Handbook of Feynman Path Integrals appears just fifty years after Richard Feynman published his pioneering paper in 1948 entitled "Space-Time Approach to Non-Relativistic Quantum Mechanics", in which he introduced his new formulation of quantum mechanics in terms of path integrals.

This book applies the mathematics and concepts of quantum mechanics and quantum field theory to the modelling of interest rates and the theory of options. Particular emphasis is placed on path integrals and Hamiltonians. Financial mathematics is dominated by stochastic calculus. The present book offers a formulation that is completely independent of that approach. As such many results emerge from the ideas developed by the author. This work will be of interest to physicists and mathematicians working in the field of finance, to quantitative analysts in banks and finance firms and to practitioners in the field of fixed income securities and foreign exchange. The book can also be used as a graduate text for courses in financial physics and financial mathematics.

This book organizes and explains, in a systematic and pedagogically effective manner, recent advances in path integral solution techniques with applications in stochastic engineering dynamics. It fills a gap in the literature by introducing to the engineering mechanics community, for the first time in the form of a book, the Wiener path integral as a potent uncertainty quantification tool. Since the path integral flourished within the realm of quantum mechanics and theoretical physics applications, most books on the topic have focused on the complex-valued Feynman integral with only few exceptions, which present path integrals from a stochastic processes perspective. Remarkably, there are only few papers, and no books, dedicated to path integral as a solution technique in stochastic engineering dynamics. Summarizing recently developed techniques, this volume is ideal for engineering analysts interested in further establishing path integrals as an alternative potent conceptual and computational vehicle in stochastic engineering dynamics.