A variational principle is developed for the lowest energy of a system described by a path integral. It is applied to the problem of the interaction of an electron with a polarizable lattice, as idealized by Fröhlich. The motion of the electron, after the phonons of the lattice field are eliminated, is described as a path integral. The variational method applied to this gives an energy for all values of the coupling constant. It is at least as accurate as previously known results. The effective mass of the electron is also calculated, but the accuracy here is difficult to judge.

• Received 19 October 1954

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRev.97.660