Abstract:
We determine the rate with which finitely multiple approximations in the Feynman formula converge to the exact expression for the equilibrium density operator of a harmonic oscillator in the linear $\tau$-quantization. We obtain an explicit analytic expression for a finitely multiple approximation of the equilibrium density operator and the related Wigner function. We show that in the class of $\tau$-quantizations, the equilibrium Wigner function of a harmonic oscillator is positive definite only in the case of the Weyl quantization.