  We employ the method used by Barbashov and collaborators in Quantum Field
Theory to derive a path-integral representation of the $T$-matrix in
nonrelativistic potential scattering which is free of functional integration
over fictitious variables as was necessary before. The resulting expression
serves as a starting point for a variational approximation applied to
high-energy scattering from a Gaussian potential. Good agreement with exact
partial-wave calculations is found even at large scattering angles. A novel
path-integral representation of the scattering length is obtained in the
low-energy limit.
