Does a functional integral really need a Lagrangian?

Path integral formulation of quantum mechanics (and also other equivalent formulations) depends on a Lagrangian and/or Hamiltonian function that is chosen to describe the underlying classical system. The arbitrariness presented in this choice leads to a phenomenon called Quantization ambiguity. For example both $L_1=\dot{q}^2$ and L_2=e^\dot{q} are suitable Lagrangians on a classical level ($\delta L_1=0=\delta L_2$), but quantum mechanically they are diverse. This paper presents a simple rearrangement of the path integral to a surface functional integral. It is shown that the surface functional integral formulation gives transition probability amplitude which is free of any Lagrangian/Hamiltonian and requires just the underlying classical equations of motion. A simple example examining the functionality of the proposed method is considered.Comment: 4 pages, published version, references added, comments are welcom

Noncommutative Lagrange Mechanics

It is proposed how to impose a general type of ''noncommutativity'' within classical mechanics from first principles. Formulation is performed in completely alternative way, i.e. without any resort to fuzzy and/or star product philosophy, which are extensively applied within noncommutative quantum theories. Newton-Lagrange noncommutative equations of motion are formulated and their properties are analyzed from the pure geometrical point of view. It is argued that the dynamical quintessence of the system consists in its kinetic energy (Riemannian metric) specifying Riemann-Levi-Civita connection and thus the inertia geodesics of the free motion. Throughout the paper, ''noncommutativity'' is considered as an internal geometric structure of the configuration space, which can not be ''observed'' per se. Manifestation of the noncommutative phenomena is mediated by the interaction of the system with noncommutative background under the consideration. The simplest model of the interaction (minimal coupling) is proposed and it is shown that guiding affine connection is modified by the quadratic analog of the Lorentz electromagnetic force (contortion term).Comment: This is a contribution to the Proc. of the 3-rd Microconference "Analytic and Algebraic Methods III"(June 19, 2007, Prague, Czech Republic), published in SIGMA (Symmetry, Integrability and Geometry: Methods and Applications) at http://www.emis.de/journals/SIGMA

Spin relaxation mechanism in graphene: resonant scattering by magnetic impurities

It is proposed that the observed small (100 ps) spin relaxation time in graphene is due to resonant scattering by local magnetic moments. At resonances, magnetic moments behave as spin hot spots: the spin-flip scattering rates are as large as the spin-conserving ones, as long as the exchange interaction is greater than the resonance width. Smearing of the resonance peaks by the presence of electron-hole puddles gives quantitative agreement with experiment, for about 1 ppm of local moments. While the local moments can come from a variety of sources, we specifically focus on hydrogen adatoms. We perform first-principles supercell calculations and introduce an effective Hamiltonian to obtain realistic input parameters for our mechanism.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures + Suppl. material (3 pages, 5 figures

Functional integral for non-Lagrangian systems

A novel functional integral formulation of quantum mechanics for non-Lagrangian systems is presented. The new approach, which we call "stringy quantization," is based solely on classical equations of motion and is free of any ambiguity arising from Lagrangian and/or Hamiltonian formulation of the theory. The functionality of the proposed method is demonstrated on several examples. Special attention is paid to the stringy quantization of systems with a general A-power friction force $-\kappa[\dot{q}]^A$. Results for $A = 1$ are compared with those obtained in the approaches by Caldirola-Kanai, Bateman and Kostin. Relations to the Caldeira-Leggett model and to the Feynman-Vernon approach are discussed as well.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures, corrected typo

Resonant scattering by magnetic impurities as a model for spin relaxation in bilayer graphene

We propose that the observed spin-relaxation in bilayer graphene is due to resonant scattering by magnetic impurities. We analyze a resonant scattering model due to adatoms on both dimer and non-dimer sites, finding that only the former give narrow resonances at the charge neutrality point. Opposite to single-layer graphene, the measured spin-relaxation rate in graphene bilayer increases with carrier density. Although it has been commonly argued that a different mechanism must be at play for the two structures, our model explains this behavior rather naturally in terms of different broadening scales for the same underlying resonant processes. Not only our results---using robust and first-principles inspired parameters---agree with experiment, they also predict an experimentally testable sharp decrease of the spin-relaxation rate at high carrier densities.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures + 2 pages Suppl. Materia

Grassmann Electrodynamics and General Relativity

The aim of this paper is to present a short introduction to supergeometry on pure odd supermanifolds. (Pseudo)differential forms, Cartan calculus (DeRham differential, Lie derivative, "inner" product), metric, inner product, Killing's vector fields, Hodge star operator, integral forms, co-differential and connection on odd Riemannian supermanifolds are introduced. The electrodynamics and Einstein relativity with anti-commuting variables only are formulated modifying the geometry beyond classical (even, bosonic) theories appropriately. Extension of these ideas to general supermanifolds is straightforward. All this "odd business" (in both meanings of the word "odd") is based on classical geometrical analogy.Comment: 16 pages. submitted to Journal of Geometry and Physic

Trivial and inverted Dirac bands, and emergence of quantum spin Hall states in graphene on transition-metal dichalcogenides

Proximity orbital and spin-orbital effects of graphene on monolayer transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) are investigated from first-principles. The Dirac band structure of graphene is found to lie within the semiconducting gap of TMDCs for sulfides and selenides, while it merges with the valence band for tellurides. In the former case the proximity-induced staggered potential gaps and spin-orbit couplings (all on the meV scale) of the Dirac electrons are established by fitting to a phenomenological effective Hamiltonian. While graphene on MoS$_2$, MoSe$_2$, and WS$_2$ has a topologically trivial band structure, graphene on WSe$_2$ exhibits inverted bands. Using a realistic tight-binding model we find topologically protected helical edge states for graphene zigzag nanoribbons on WSe$_2$, demonstrating the quantum spin Hall effect. This model also features "half-topological states", which are protected against time-reversal disorder on one edge only.Comment: 10 pages, 11 figure