Feynman Propagators on Static Spacetimes

Abstract

We consider the Klein-Gordon equation on a static spacetime and minimally coupled to a static electromagnetic potential. We show that it is essentially self-adjoint on $C_{\mathrm{c}}^\infty$. We discuss various distinguished inverses and bisolutions of the Klein-Gordon operator, focusing on the so-called Feynman propagator. We show that the Feynman propagator can be considered the boundary value of the resolvent of the Klein-Gordon operator, in the spirit of the limiting absorption principle known from the theory of Schr\"odinger operators. We also show that the Feynman propagator is the limit of the inverse of the Wick rotated Klein-Gordon operator.