  An extension of the stochastic quantization scheme is proposed by adding
nonlinear terms to the field equations. Our modification is motivated by the
recently established theory of active Brownian motion. We discuss a way of
promoting this theory to the case of infinite degrees of freedom. Equilibrium
distributions can be calculated exactly and are interpreted as path integral
densities of quantum field theories. By applying our procedure to scalar QED,
the symmetry breaking potential of the Higgs mechanism arises as the
equilibrium solution.
