On a causal quantum stochastic double product integral related to Lévy area

Abstract

We study the family of causal double product integrals

where $P$ and $Q$ are the mutually noncommuting momentum and position Brownian motions of quantum stochastic calculus. The evaluation is motivated heuristically by approximating the continuous double product by a discrete product in which infinitesimals are replaced by finite increments. The latter is in turn approximated by the second quantisation of a discrete double product of rotation-like operators in different planes due to a result in [15]. The main problem solved in this paper is the explicit evaluation of the continuum limit $W$ of the latter, and showing that $W$ is a unitary operator. The kernel of $W-I$ is written in terms of Bessel functions, and the evaluation is achieved by working on a lattice path model and enumerating linear extensions of related partial orderings, where the enumeration turns out to be heavily related to Dyck paths and generalisations of Catalan numbers.