Path integral quantization of a spinning particle

TL;DR

This paper derives a path integral quantization method for a modified relativistic particle action that produces the Feynman propagator for free fields of arbitrary spin, establishing equivalence with the DKP form for spins 0 and 1.

Contribution

It introduces a novel path integral approach to quantize spinning particles, linking particle actions to DKP field propagators for various spins.

Findings

DKP propagator matches standard for spin 0 and 1

Method extends to higher spins

Provides a unified quantization framework for spinning particles

Abstract

Following the idea of Alekseev and Shatashvili we derive the path integral quantization of a modified relativistic particle action that results in the Feynman propagator of a free field with arbitrary spin. This propagator can be associated with the Duffin, Kemmer, and Petiau (DKP) form of a free field theory. We show explicitly that the obtained DKP propagator is equivalent to the standard one, for spins 0 and 1. We argue that this equivalence holds also for higher spins.