Sum over histories Definition and 11 Threads

  1. S

    B Is There a Cosmological Model That Considers All Possible Laws of Physics?

    Hawking and Hartle proposed a well-known model which postulated a sum over all possible histories considering all compact euclidean metrics to explain the origin of the universe (this is called the No Boundary model). I was wondering whether there is any model or theory (related to cosmology)...
  2. H

    I Sum over histories implies no definite history?

    What does Feynman's sum over histories mean to the interpretation of our world? Does it mean that we (or a particle) do not have a definite history, but only the most probable one?
  3. S

    A Wavefunction of the Universe considering all possible boundaries?

    The Hawking-Hartle no boundary condition is well known. The authors considered a many worlds/histories model considering a sum over all compact euclidean metrics. But are there any models or theories that consider a sum over all possible metrics or boundaries? And finally, if all possible...
  4. S

    A Hartle-Hawking sum over all possible metrics?

    Physicists Stephen W Hawking and James B Hartle 1 proposed that the universe, in its origins, had no boundary conditions both in space and time. To do that, they proposed a sum over all compact euclidean compact metrics. I have heard that they only considered these metrics in order to simplify...
  5. Matta Tanning

    Relation between phase space and path integral formulation?

    I am trying to conceptually connect the two formulations of quantum mechanics. The phase space formulation deals with quasi-probability distributions on the phase space and the path integral formulation usually deals with a sum-over-paths in the configuration space. I see how they both lead...
  6. B

    Sum over histories and double slit?

    I was recently studying Feynman's sum-over-histories approach to quantum probability. I also was reading an interesting paper on the double slit experiment. How do these two work together. Do some of the probability waves not have a out of phase partner to interfere with itself? On a related...
  7. J

    Confused by Feynman sum over histories

    This seems to contradict the very tools we use to perform the scientific method. Immediately after performing any experiment, the measurement becomes a historical event, and this says that we cannot say that any historical event has actually occurred. Thus, I cannot actually say that I...
  8. P

    Understanding the Strange World of Sum-over-Histories: A Brief Overview

    I'm working on an article about sum-over-histories. Could folks more knowledgeable than I review this and point out any errors? Thank you. ---- The 1920's were an exciting time, with unexplained experimental results all over the place. Eventually someone would get the math to pretty...
  9. A

    How does Feynman Sum Over Histories make sense?

    How does Feynman "Sum Over Histories" make sense? Hi. I am new to Quantum Physics and this forum as well. I was reading The Grand Design, by Stephen Hawking, and came upon the "Alternative Histories" theory in Quantum Mechanics. My questions are: 1.) How is it possible that a particle can...
  10. bcrowell

    Sum over histories, including histories that violate conservation laws?

    It's been 20 years since I took field theory in grad school, and I didn't really understand it all that well even then, so I'm basically looking for a very low-level explanation of the following issue... In the sum-over-histories approach, there is the question of which histories to include...
  11. R

    Sum over histories and relationships

    Ok, everyone knows that according to Feynman's theory a subatomic particle traverses all paths from one point to another simultaneously. My idea is to apply this behavior to relationships. For example, given a choice between five girls each choice made invokes a different actual history out of...
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