Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-quantum-condensed-matter-field-theory-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2014/paper-1/2/a/solution

Put and . With equal endpoints , the Euclidean classical path and its action are
Write , where . Sine modes have fluctuation eigenvalues . Relative to the free-particle determinant, their Gaussian integral contributes
Multiplying the free prefactor gives the Euclidean oscillator diagonal kernel
Integrating this over the common endpoint is precisely the trace. All fluctuations here are Dirichlet fluctuations about a fixed-endpoint path; periodicity is imposed on the full trace after endpoint integration.

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