Exploiting the isomorphism between quantum theory and classical statistical mechanics of polyatomic fluids

From a discretization of the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, it is possible to relate equilibrium quantum many body theory to classical statistical mechanics. In this paper, we significantly extend and analyze this well known isomorphism in terms of the equilibrium theory of classical molecular fluids composed of flexible polyatomic species. We show how quantum influence functionals are isomorphic to classical cavity distribution functions. The former describe the influence of surrounding media on the dynamics of quantal degrees of freedom, and the latter describe environmental effects for classical models of flexible molecules and chemical equilibria. The connection allows the use of classical theories to perform nonperturbative calculations of influence functionals which treat the influence functionals and many body correlation functions in a self-consistent fashion. We illustrate the computational advantages of the method by studying its predictions for a hard sphere model of liquid helium above the l transition. The nature of quantum indistinguishability of identical particles (i.e., quantum exchange) is treated in our theory in terms of an exact isomorphism with chemical equilibria. This connection allows the treatment of exchange in condensed phases in terms of the classical law of mass action, and provides a computational advance over existing methods for interacting systems. By picturing exchange in terms of classical association equilibrium, we arrive at a view (hinted at long ago by Feynman and by Penrose and Onsager) in which the Bose condensation is related to an equilibrium polymeric sol–gel transition. Thus, below the l transition, the correlations in liquid helium are equivalent to those in a classical fluid containing a finite concentration of macroscopic polymers. We stress how the path integral aspect of the isomorphism leads to useful geometrical interpretations of quantum phenomena. For example, tunneling phenomena can be viewed in terms of solitonic (or instantonic) configurations or flexible chain molecules. With this picture, we show how the isomorphism can be employed to understand both adiabatic and nonadiabatic solvent effects on chemical bonding. For concreteness, we provide a detailed analysis of a particular model of the chemical bond for which a partial summation over intermediate quantum paths leads to an Ising model problem in the isomorphism. While applications like this are presented in the form of qualitative illustrations, a variety of methods can be employed to produce quantitative results. We sketch how these calculations can be performed for various problems, making connections with methods like the renormalization group (RG) technique. The classical isomorphism together with the modern theory of classical polyatomic systems provides a powerful framework for quantitative solutions of condensed matter quantum mechanical problems.