Sharp and Infinite Boundaries in the Path Integral Formalism

Phillip Dluhy, Asim Gangopadhyaya

Published 2011-12-15Version 1

We revisit the analysis of sharp infinite potentials within the path integral formalism using the image method [1]. We show that the use of a complete set of energy eigenstates that satisfy the boundary conditions of an infinite wall precisely generates the propagator proposed in Ref. [1]. We then show the validity of the image method by using supersymmetric quantum mechanics to relate a potential without a sharp boundary to the infinite square well and derive its propagator with an infinite number of image charges. Finally, we show that the image method readily generates the propagator for the half-harmonic oscillator, a potential that has a sharp infinite boundary at the origin and a quadratic potential in the allowed region, and leads to the well known eigenvalues and eigenfunctions.