Representation of complex probabilities and complex Gibbs sampling

Abstract

Complex weights appear in Physics which are beyond a straightforward importance sampling treatment, as required in Monte Carlo calculations. This is the well-known sign problem. The complex Langevin approach amounts to effectively construct a posi\-tive distribution on the complexified manifold reproducing the expectation values of the observables through their analytical extension. Here we discuss the direct construction of such positive distributions paying attention to their localization on the complexified manifold. Explicit localized repre\-sentations are obtained for complex probabilities defined on Abelian and non Abelian groups. The viability and performance of a complex version of the heat bath method, based on such representations, is analyzed.