Feynman Path Integrals Over Entangled States

Abstract

The saddle points of a conventional Feynman path integral are not entangled, since they comprise a sequence of classical field configurations. We combine insights from field theory and tensor networks by constructing a Feynman path integral over a sequence of matrix product states. The paths that dominate this path integral include some degree of entanglement. This new feature allows several insights and applications: i. A Ginzburg-Landau description of deconfined phase transitions. ii. The emergence of new classical collective variables in states that are not adiabatically continuous with product states. iii. Features that are captured in product-state field theories by proliferation of instantons are encoded in perturbative fluctuations about entangled saddles. We develop a general formalism for such path integrals and a couple of simple examples to illustrate their utility.