The Finite-Temperature Feynman Propagator in Operator Form

Abstract

In momentum space the Feynman propagator $D_{F}(k)$ at non-zero temperature is defined by a simple dispersion relation with the familiar property of being an even function of $k^{0}$ and analytic for Re$(k^{0})^{2}>0$. The coordinate space form of the propagator $D_{F}(x)$ is expressed directly in terms of matrix elements of the field operator and requires a new type of operator ordering.