Geometric Quantization by Paths, Part III: The Metaplectic Anomaly

TL;DR

This paper develops a geometric framework for quantization using paths, addressing the metaplectic anomaly by deriving the zero-point energy of the harmonic oscillator as a geometric consequence within this approach.

Contribution

It introduces an intrinsic observable algebra in the GQbP framework and resolves the metaplectic anomaly through geometric analysis of the harmonic oscillator.

Findings

Derived the zero-point energy as a divergence term from symmetry group action.

Integrated complex polarization and half-forms into the GQbP framework.

Resolved the metaplectic anomaly as a geometric consequence of intrinsic quantization.

Abstract

In the previous parts of this work, we established the Prequantum Groupoid $\mathbf{T}_\omega$ as the universal geometric container for quantum mechanics. This approach, which we call the "Geometric Quantization by Paths" (GQbP) framework, replaces the traditional construction of principal bundles with the distillation of the space of histories. In this third part, we cross the "Threshold of Analysis" by constructing the intrinsic observable algebra of the system. The harmonic oscillator is treated here as a validation case, demonstrating that the standard resolution via complex polarization and half-forms is naturally integrated into the GQbP framework. Starting from the complexified groupoid, we define the algebra using symplectic half-densities to ensure a canonical convolution product. We then show that the transition to a polarized representation forces a factorization of these densities. The action of the symmetry group on the polarized half-forms generates a divergence term, which we identify as the source of the zero-point energy of the harmonic oscillator, $E_0 = n\hbar/2$. This derivation resolves the "Metaplectic Anomaly" as a necessary geometric consequence of the intrinsic quantization process.