Functional integration

Functional integration is a collection of results in mathematics and physics where the domain of an integral is no longer a region of space, but a space of functions. Functional integrals arise in probability, in the study of partial differential equations, and in the path integral approach to the quantum mechanics of particles and fields. Functional integration is a collection of results in mathematics and physics where the domain of an integral is no longer a region of space, but a space of functions. Functional integrals arise in probability, in the study of partial differential equations, and in the path integral approach to the quantum mechanics of particles and fields. In an ordinary integral there is a function to be integrated (the integrand) and a region of space over which to integrate the function (the domain of integration). The process of integration consists of adding up the values of the integrand for each point of the domain of integration. Making this procedure rigorous requires a limiting procedure, where the domain of integration is divided into smaller and smaller regions. For each small region, the value of the integrand cannot vary much, so it may be replaced by a single value. In a functional integral the domain of integration is a space of functions. For each function, the integrand returns a value to add up. Making this procedure rigorous poses challenges that continue to be topics of current research. Functional integration was developed by Percy John Daniell in an article of 1919 and Norbert Wiener in a series of studies culminating in his articles of 1921 on Brownian motion. They developed a rigorous method (now known as the Wiener measure) for assigning a probability to a particle's random path. Richard Feynman developed another functional integral, the path integral, useful for computing the quantum properties of systems. In Feynman's path integral, the classical notion of a unique trajectory for a particle is replaced by an infinite sum of classical paths, each weighted differently according to its classical properties. Functional integration is central to quantization techniques in theoretical physics. The algebraic properties of functional integrals are used to develop series used to calculate properties in quantum electrodynamics and the standard model of particle physics. Whereas standard Riemann integration sums a function f(x) over a continuous range of values of x, functional integration sums a functional G, which can be thought of as a 'function of a function' over a continuous range (or space) of functions f. Most functional integrals cannot be evaluated exactly but must be evaluated using perturbation methods. The formal definition of a functional integral is However, in most cases the functions f(x) can be written in terms of an infinite series of orthogonal functions such as f ( x ) = f n H n ( x ) {displaystyle f(x)=f_{n}H_{n}(x)} , and then the definition becomes which is slightly more understandable. The integral is shown to be a functional integral with a capital D. Sometimes it is written in square brackets: or D, to indicate that f is a function. Most functional integrals are actually infinite, but the quotient of two functional integrals can be finite. The functional integrals that can be solved exactly usually start with the following Gaussian integral: By functionally differentiating this with respect to J(x) and then setting to 0 this becomes an exponential multiplied by a polynomial in f. For example, setting K ( x , y ) = ◻ δ ( x − y ) {displaystyle K(x,y)=Box delta (x-y)} , we find: