Year: 2000
Type: article
Abstract: By adapting Feynman's sum over paths method to a quantum mechanical system whose phase space is a torus, a new proof of the Landsberg-Schaar identity for quadratic Gauss sums is given. In contrast to existing non-elementary proofs, which use infinite sums and a limiting process or contour integration, only finite sums are involved. The toroidal nature of the classical phase space leads to discrete position and momentum, and hence discrete time. The corresponding `path integrals' are finite sums whose normalizations are derived, which are shown to intertwine cyclicity and discreteness to give a finite version of Kelvin's method of images.
Authors: Vernon Armitage, Alice Rogers
Institutions: Durham University, King's College London
Language: English
Subfield: Algebra and Number Theory
Field: Mathematics
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1995952991