Eur. Phys. J. Special Topics 224, 591–596 (2015)
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjst/e2015-02391-1

Regular Article

Corrections to the continuous time semiclassical coherent state path integral

Laboratory of Atomic and Solid State Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca NY 14850, USA

^a e-mail: ydy3@cornell.edu

Received: 15 October 2014
Revised: 19 February 2015
Published online: 9 April 2015

Abstract

By returning to the underlying discrete time formalism, we relate spurious results in coherent state semiclassical path integral calculations, i.e. those involving quadratic fluctuations about classical paths, to the high frequency structure of their propagators. We show how to modify the standard expressions for thermodynamic quantities to yield correct results. These expressions are relevant to a broad range of physical problems, from the thermodynamics of Bose lattice gases to the dynamics of spin systems.