Partition function path integral relations

As seen from our discussion in Chapter 3, which dealt with onedimensional problems, in many relevant cases one actually does not need the knowledge of the behavior of the system in real time to find the rate constant. As a matter of fact, the rate constant is expressible solely in terms of the equilibrium partition function imaginary-time path integrals. This approximation is closely related to the key assumptions of TST, and it is not always valid, as mentioned in Section 2.3. The general real-time description of a particle coupled to a heat bath is the Feynman-Vernon... 

However, the periodicity condition (4.518) for paths is to be maintained and properly implemented in approximating the effective-classical partition function (4.525) being, nevertheless, closely and powerfully related with the quantum beloved concept of stationary orbits defined/described by periodic quantum waves/paths. This way, the effective-classical path integral approach appears as the true quantum justification of the quantum atom and of the quantum stabilization of matter in general, providing reliable results without involving observables or operators relaying on special quantum postulates other than the variational principles - with universal (classical or quantum) value. 

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