Wick rotation
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In physics, a Wick rotation is the process by which a theory in Euclidean space is analytically continued into one in Minkowski space and vice versa. It consists simply of replacing every instance of the variable t (representing time) with it (effectively redefining t), including within the derivatives. This relates statistical mechanics to quantum field theory, although why it works is a bit of a mystery.
See also Schwinger function.
External links
- Gian-Carlo Wick (http://stills.nap.edu/html/biomems/gwick.html)