Both Thermal/quantum and Static/dynamic
Taken together, the previous two examples show how the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics is related to statistical mechanics. From statistical mechanics, the shape of each spring in a collection at temperature will deviate from the least-energy shape due to thermal fluctuations; the probability of finding a spring with a given shape decreases exponentially with the energy difference from the least-energy shape. Similarly, a quantum particle moving in a potential can be described by a superposition of paths, each with a phase : the thermal variations in the shape across the collection have turned into quantum uncertainty in the path of the quantum particle.
Read more about this topic: Wick Rotation
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