dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaFunctional determinants via Wronski construction of Green functions
| Authors | H. Kleinert, A. Chervyakov |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | physics/9712048 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/9712048 |
| DOI | 10.1063/1.533069 |
| Journal | J. Math. Phys. 40, 6044 (1999) |
Abstract
A general technique is developed for calculating functional determinants of second-order differential operators with Dirichlet, periodic, and antiperiodic boundary conditions. As an example, we give simple formulas for a harmonic oscillator with an arbitrary time-dependent frequency. Here our result is a generalization of Gel'fand-Yaglom's famous formula which was restricted to Dirichlet boundary conditions. Apart from the generalization, our derivation is more transparent than theirs, the determinants requiring only knowledge of the classical trajectories. Special properties of operators with a zero mode are exhibited. Our technique does not require the calculation of the spectrum and is as simple as Wronski's method for Green functions.
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"abstract": "A general technique is developed for calculating functional determinants of\nsecond-order differential operators with Dirichlet, periodic, and antiperiodic\nboundary conditions. As an example, we give simple formulas for a harmonic\noscillator with an arbitrary time-dependent frequency. Here our result is a\ngeneralization of Gel\u0027fand-Yaglom\u0027s famous formula which was restricted to\nDirichlet boundary conditions. Apart from the generalization, our derivation is\nmore transparent than theirs, the determinants requiring only knowledge of the\nclassical trajectories. Special properties of operators with a zero mode are\nexhibited. Our technique does not require the calculation of the spectrum and\nis as simple as Wronski\u0027s method for Green functions.",
"arxiv_id": "physics/9712048",
"authors": [
"H. Kleinert",
"A. Chervyakov"
],
"categories": [
"math-ph",
"math.MP"
],
"doi": "10.1063/1.533069",
"journal_ref": "J. Math. Phys. 40, 6044 (1999)",
"title": "Functional determinants via Wronski construction of Green functions",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/9712048"
},
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