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Feynman’s Corner Rule; Quantum Propagation from Special Relativity

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Abstract

Feynman’s sum-over-paths prescription for the Dirac equation in a two dimensional spacetime can be formulated to give an unconventional view of the relationship between quantization and special relativity. By considering a local rule for the maintenance of Lorentz covariance in a discrete space, one is able to see the origin of Feynman’s rule and, taking a continuum limit at the last step, one obtains the Dirac propagator as a manifestation of special relativity, rather than a formal addition to it. In this route to the Dirac equation, the path-dependent phase of wavefunctions, relativistic or not, is a direct manifestations of path-dependent proper time.

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  1. Mathematics Dept., Ryerson University, Toronto, ON, Canada

    G. N. Ord

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  1. G. N. Ord
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Correspondence to G. N. Ord.

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Ord, G.N. Feynman’s Corner Rule; Quantum Propagation from Special Relativity. Int J Theor Phys 49, 2528–2539 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10773-010-0445-8

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