Semiclassical approximations to the coherent-state propagator for a particle in a box

We compute the semiclassical coherent-state propagator for a particle moving in a one-dimensional box. In this semiclassical approach complex trajectories are stationary paths of the propagator’s asymptotic expansion and play a fundamental role. A second semiclassical approximation is also introduced, which makes use of real trajectories only. An application to a seemingly simple system, the infinite well, is carried out completely for the diagonal elements, and a comparison is made among the three possible methods, those based on complex and real trajectories and the ‘‘exact case’’ that is determined by decomposing the propagator into its eigenstates. © 1996 The American Physical Society.