Dimensional Regularization Research Articles

Low-energy effective field theory below the electroweak scale: one-loop renormalization in the ’t Hooft-Veltman scheme

The low-energy effective field theory below the electroweak scale (LEFT) describes the effects at low energies of both the weak interaction and physics beyond the Standard Model. We study the one-loop renormalization of the LEFT in the ’t Hooft-Veltman scheme, which offers an algebraically consistent definition of the Levi-Civita symbol and γ5 in dimensional regularization. However, in connection with minimal subtraction this scheme leads to a spurious breaking of chiral symmetry in intermediate steps of the calculation. Based on the ’t Hooft-Veltman prescription, we define a renormalization scheme that restores chiral symmetry by including appropriate finite counterterms. To this end, we extend the physical LEFT operator basis by a complete set of off-shell and one-loop-evanescent operators and we perform the renormalization at one loop. We determine the finite counterterms to the physical parameters that compensate both the insertions of evanescent operators, as well as the chiral-symmetry-breaking terms from the renormalizable part of the Lagrangian in D dimensions. Our results can be applied in next-to-leading-log calculations in the ’t Hooft-Veltman scheme: using our renormalization scheme instead of pure minimal subtraction separates the physical sector from the unphysical evanescent sector and leads to results that are manifestly free of spurious chiral-symmetry-breaking terms.

Regulating loops in de Sitter spacetime

Perturbative quantum field theory (QFT) calculations in de Sitter space are riddled with contributions that diverge over time. These contributions often arise from loop integrals, which are notoriously hard to compute in de Sitter. We discuss an approach to evaluate loop integrals that contribute to equal-time correlators of a scalar field theory in a fixed de Sitter background. Our method is based on the Mellin-Barnes representation of correlation functions, which allows us to regulate loop divergences by adjusting the masses of the fields, or by gently deforming the underlying de Sitter spacetime. The resulting expressions have a similar structure as a standard answer from dimensional regularization in flat space QFT. These features of the regulator are illustrated with two examples, worked out in detail. Along the way, we illuminate the physical origin of these divergences and their interpretation with the machinery of the dynamical renormalization group. Our approach regulates the IR divergences of massless and massive particles in the same way. For massless scalars, the loop corrections can be incorporated as systematic improvements to the stochastic inflation framework, allowing for a more precise description of the IR dynamics of such fields in de Sitter. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Three-loop effective potential for softly broken supersymmetry

The effective potential has been previously calculated through three-loop order, in Landau gauge, for a general renormalizable theory using dimensional regularization. However, dimensional regularization is not appropriate for softly broken supersymmetric gauge theories, because it explicitly violates supersymmetry. In this paper, I obtain the three-loop effective potential using a supersymmetric regulator based on dimensional reduction. Checks follow from the vanishing of the effective potential in examples with supersymmetric vacua, and from renormalization-scale invariance in examples for which supersymmetry is broken, either spontaneously or explicitly by soft terms. As by-products, I obtain the three-loop Landau gauge anomalous dimension for the scalar component of a chiral supermultiplet, and the beta function for the field-independent vacuum energy. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

MultiHypExp: A Mathematica package for expanding multivariate hypergeometric functions in terms of multiple polylogarithms

We present the Mathematica package MultiHypExp that allows for the expansion of multivariate hypergeometric functions (MHFs), especially those likely to appear as solutions of multi-loop, multi-scale Feynman integrals, in the dimensional regularization parameter. The series expansion of MHFs can be carried out around integer values of parameters to express the series coefficients in terms of multiple polylogarithms. The package uses a modified version of the algorithm prescribed in [1]. In the present work, we relate a given MHF to a Taylor series expandable MHF by a differential operator. The Taylor expansion of the latter MHF is found by first finding the associated partial differential equations (PDEs) from its series representation. We then bring the PDEs to the Pfaffian system and further to the canonical form, and solve them order by order in the expansion parameter using appropriate boundary conditions. The Taylor expansion so obtained and the differential operators are used to find the series expansion of the given MHF. We provide examples to demonstrate the algorithm and to describe the usage of the package, which can be found in this url. Program summaryProgram Title:MultiHypExp.wl version 1.0CPC Library link to program files:https://doi.org/10.17632/zxwkx38y7b.1Developer's repository link:https://github.com/souvik5151/MultiHypExpLicensing provisions: GNU General Public License 3Programming language: Wolfram Mathematica version 11.3 or higherExternal routines/libraries: HolonomicFunctions, CANONICA, HYPERDIRE, PolyLogTools, HPLNature of problem: Obtaining the series expansion of multivariate hypergeometric functions around integer values of Pochhammer parameters in terms of multiple polylogarithmsSolution method: Mathematica implementation of a modified version of the algorithm prescribed in Nucl. Phys. B 989 (2023) 116145.

A coherent state approach to the Casimir effect for a massive scalar field in a noncommutative spacetime

In this paper we investigate the Casimir effect in the classical geometry of two parallel conducting plates, separated by a distance L, for a massive scalar field in a noncommutative spacetime within a coherent state approach. Noncommutative geometry is implemented by means of modified commutation relations for the spacetime coordinates, thus introducing a fundamental length scale l in the theory. Following a coordinate coherent states approach, we define mean values over the noncommutative spacetime and introduce the massive scalar field theory. We derive an expression for the zero-point energy which we evaluate by means of a dimensional regularization process. We express the Casimir energy in terms of powers of the ratios (l/L)2n in the massless case and (ml2/L)2n in the massive case. Our results are discussed both, theoretically and numerically. We finally estimate boundary effects by introducing an specific model for the plates.

Higher logarithms and ε-poles for the MS-like renormalization prescriptions

We consider a version of dimensional regularization (reduction) in which the dimensionful regularization parameter Λ is in general different from the renormalization scale μ. Then in the scheme analogous to the minimal subtraction the renormalization constants contain ε-poles, powers of ln Λ/μ, and mixed terms of the structure ε−q lnp Λ/μ. For the MS-like schemes we present explicit expressions for the coefficients at all these structures which relate them to the coefficients in the renormalization group functions, namely in the β-function and in the anomalous dimension. In particular, for the pure ε-poles we present explicit solutions of the ’t Hooft pole equations. Also we construct simple all-loop expressions for the renormalization constants (also written in terms of the renormalization group functions) which produce all ε-poles and logarithms and establish a number of relations between various coefficients at ε-poles and logarithms. The results are illustrated by some examples.

Integrability for Feynman integrals

We give a brief overview of the Yangian symmetry of Feynman integrals. After a short introduction to the Yangian and integrability, we motivate the emergence of integrable structures for Feynman integrals via the fishnet limit of AdS/CFT. We discuss the resulting Yangian differential equations for massless fishnets in four dimensions as well as generalizations to massive propagators and generic dimensions. We also comment on the relation to momentum space conformal symmetry and on examples in dimensional regularization. Finally we sketch the recent application to fishnet integrals in two spacetime dimensions and the curious identification of Yangian invariants with period integrals of Calabi-Yau geometries.

A proposed renormalization scheme for non-local QFTs and application to the hierarchy problem

We propose a renormalization scheme for non-local Quantum Field Theories (QFTs) with infinite derivatives inspired by string theory. Our Non-locality Renormalization Scheme (NRS) is inspired by Dimensional Regularization (DR) in local QFTs and is shown to significantly improve the UV behavior of non-local QFTs. We illustrate the scheme using simple examples from the ϕ3\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\phi ^{3}$$\\end{document} and ϕ4\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\phi ^{4}$$\\end{document} theories, then we evaluate the viability of NRS-enhanced non-local QFTs to solve the hierarchy problem using a simplified toy model. We find that non-locality protects the mass of a light scalar from receiving large corrections from any UV sector to which it couples, as long as the non-locality scale Λ\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\Lambda $$\\end{document} is sufficiently smaller than the scale of the UV sector. We also find that NRS eliminates any large threshold corrections from the IR sector.

Gravitoelectric dynamical tides at second post-Newtonian order

We present a gravitoelectric quadrupolar dynamical tidal-interaction Hamiltonian for a compact binary system, that is valid to second order in the post-Newtonian expansion. Our derivation uses the diagrammatic effective field theory approach, and involves Feynman integrals up to two loops, evaluated with the dimensional regularization scheme. We also derive the effective Hamiltonian for adiabatic tides, obtained by taking the appropriate limit of the dynamical effective Hamiltonian, and we check its validity by verifying the complete Poincaré algebra. In the adiabatic limit, we also calculate two gauge-invariant observables, namely, the binding energy for a circular orbit and the scattering angle in a hyperbolic scattering. Our results are important for developing accurate gravitational waveform models for neutron-star binaries for present and future gravitational-wave observatories.

Finiteness of N=4 Super-Yang–Mills Effective Action in Terms of Dressed N=1 Superfields

We argue in favor of the independence on any scale, ultraviolet or infrared, in kernels of the effective action expressed in terms of dressed N=1 superfields for the case of N=4 super-Yang–Mills theory. Under “scale independence” of the effective action of dressed mean superfields, we mean its “finiteness in the off-shell limit of removing all the regularizations”. This off-shell limit is scale independent because no scale remains inside these kernels after removing the regularizations. We use two types of regularization: regularization by dimensional reduction and regularization by higher derivatives in its supersymmetric form. Based on the Slavnov–Taylor identity, we show that dressed fields of matter and of vector multiplets can be introduced to express the effective action in terms of them. Kernels of the effective action expressed in terms of such dressed effective fields do not depend on the ultraviolet scale. In the case of dimensional reduction, by using the developed technique, we show how the problem of inconsistency of the dimensional reduction can be solved. Using Piguet and Sibold formalism, we indicate that the dependence on the infrared scale disappears off shell in both the regularizations.

An observation on Feynman diagrams with axial anomalous subgraphs in dimensional regularization with an anticommuting γ5

Through the calculation of the matrix element of the singlet axial-current operator between the vacuum and a pair of gluons in dimensional regularization with an anti-commuting γ5 defined in a Kreimer-scheme variant, we find that additional renormalization counter-terms proportional to the Chern-Simons current operator are needed starting from O\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ \\mathcal{O} $$\\end{document}(αs2\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ {\\alpha}_s^2 $$\\end{document}) in QCD. This is in contrast to the well-known purely multiplicative renormalization of the singlet axial-current operator defined with a non-anticommuting γ5. Consequently, without introducing compensation terms in the form of additional renormalization, the Adler-Bell-Jackiw anomaly equation does not hold automatically in the bare form in this kind of schemes. We determine the corresponding (gauge-dependent) coefficient to O\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ \\mathcal{O} $$\\end{document}(αs3\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ {\\alpha}_s^3 $$\\end{document}) in QCD, using a variant of the original Kreimer prescription which is implemented in our computation in terms of the standard cyclic trace together with a constructively-defined γ5. Owing to the factorized form of these divergences, intimately related to the axial anomaly, we further performed a check, using concrete examples, that with γ5 treated in this way, the axial-current operator needs no more additional renormalization in dimensional regularization but only for non-anomalous amplitudes in a perturbatively renormalizable theory. To be complete, we provide a few additional ingredients needed for a proposed extension of the algorithmic procedure formulated in the above analysis to potential applications to a renormalizable anomaly-free chiral gauge theory, i.e. the electroweak theory.

Cosmic energy density: particles, fields and the vacuum

We revisit the cosmic evolution of the energy density of a quantized free scalar field and assess under what conditions the particle production and classical field approximations reproduce its correct value. Because the unrenormalized energy-momentum tensor diverges in the ultraviolet, it is necessary to frame our discussion within an appropriate regularization and renormalization scheme. Pauli-Villars avoids some of the drawbacks of adiabatic subtraction and dimensional regularization and is particularly convenient in this context. In some cases, we can predict the evolution of the energy density irrespectively of the quantum state of the field modes. To further illustrate our results we focus however on the in vacuum, the preferred quantum state singled out by inflation, and explore to what extent the latter determines the subsequent evolution of the energy density regardless of the unknown details of reheating. We contrast this discussion with examples of transitions to radiation domination that avoid some of the problems of the one commonly studied in the literature, and point out some instances in which the particle production or the classical field approximations lead to the incorrect energy density. Along the way, we also elaborate on the connection of our analysis to dynamical dark energy models and axion-like dark matter candidates.

Weyl conformal geometry vs Weyl anomaly

Weyl conformal geometry is a gauge theory of scale invariance that naturally brings together the Standard Model (SM) and Einstein gravity. The SM embedding in this geometry is possible without new degrees of freedom beyond SM and Weyl geometry, while Einstein gravity is generated by the broken phase of this symmetry. This follows a Stueckelberg breaking mechanism in which the Weyl gauge boson becomes massive and decouples, as discussed in the past [1–3]. However, Weyl anomaly could break explicitly this gauge symmetry, hence we study it in Weyl geometry. We first note that in Weyl geometry metricity can be restored with respect to a new differential operator ( hat{nabla} ) that also enforces simultaneously a Weyl-covariant formulation. This leads to a metric-like Weyl gauge invariant formalism that enables one to do quantum calculations directly in Weyl geometry, rather than use a Riemannian (metric) geometry picture. The result is the Weyl-covariance in d dimensions of all geometric operators ( hat{R} , etc) and of their derivatives ( hat{nabla} μ hat{R} , etc), including the Euler-Gauss-Bonnet term. A natural (geometric) Weyl-invariant dimensional regularisation of quantum corrections exists and Weyl gauge symmetry is then maintained and manifest at the quantum level. This is related to a non-trivial current of this symmetry, the divergence of which cancels the trace of the energy-momentum tensor. The “usual” Weyl anomaly and Riemannian geometry are recovered in the (spontaneously) broken phase. The relation to holographic Weyl anomaly is discussed.

Production of massive W±\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$W^{\\pm }$$\\end{document} bosons and fermion–antifermion pairs from vacuum in the de Sitter Universe

In this paper we study the charged electro-weak interactions in the de Sitter geometry. We develop the reduction formalism for the Proca field with the help of the solutions for the interacting fields. Perturbation theory is used for obtaining the definition of the transition amplitudes in the first order. We apply our formalism to the study of spontaneous vacuum emission of fermions, anti-fermions and W±\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$W^{\\pm }$$\\end{document} bosons in the expanding de Sitter universe. Our results are generalizations of the Weinberg–Salam electro-weak theory to curved space-time, in the case of W±\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$W^{\\pm }$$\\end{document} boson interaction with leptons. The probability and transition amplitude are found to be a quantities which depend on the Hubble parameter. Our analytical and graphical results prove that such perturbative processes are possible only for the large expansion conditions of the early Universe. The total probability and rate of transition are obtained for the case of large expansion and we use dimensional regularization for the momenta integrals. In the end we recover the Minkowski limit, where our probabilities vanish, thus confirming the well known fact that spontaneous vacuum emission of W±\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$W^{\\pm }$$\\end{document} bosons and fermions is forbidden in flat space-time due to energy–momentum conservation.

Numerical scattering amplitudes with pySecDec

We present a major update of the program pySecDec, a toolbox for the evaluation of dimensionally regulated parameter integrals. The new version enables the evaluation of multi-loop integrals as well as amplitudes in a highly distributed and flexible way, optionally on GPUs. The program has been optimised and runs up to an order of magnitude faster than the previous release. A new integration procedure that utilises construction-free median Quasi-Monte Carlo rules is implemented. The median lattice rules can outperform our previous component-by-component rules by a factor of 5 and remove the limitation on the maximum number of sampling points. The expansion by regions procedures have been extended to support Feynman integrals with numerators, and functions for automatically determining when and how analytic regulators should be introduced are now available. The new features and performance are illustrated with several examples. Program summaryProgram Title: pySecDecCPC Library link to program files:https://doi.org/10.17632/dnrkf5jxzh.4Developer's repository link:https://github.com/gudrunhe/secdec, https://secdec.readthedocs.io (Online documentation)Licensing provisions: GNU Public License v3Programming language: Python, Form, C++, CudaExternal routines/libraries:GSL [1], NumPy [2], SymPy [3], Nauty [4], Cuba [5], Form [6], GiNaC and CLN [7], Normaliz [8], GMP [9].Journal reference of previous version: Comput. Phys. Commun. 273 (2022) 108267 [1].Does the new version supersede the previous version?: Yes.Nature of problem: Scattering amplitudes at higher orders in perturbation theory are typically represented as a linear combination of coefficients — containing the kinematic invariants and the space-time dimension — multiplied with loop integrals which contain singularities and whose analytic representation might be unknown.Solution method: Extraction of singularities in the dimensional regularization parameter as well as in analytic regulators for potential spurious singularities is done using sector decomposition. The combined evaluation of the integrals with their coefficients is performed in an efficient way.Restrictions: Depending on the complexity of the problem, limited by memory and CPU/GPU time.

When tadpoles matter: one-loop corrections for spectator Higgs in inflation

We consider the classical attractor regime of the spectator Abelian Higgs model in power-law inflation, and compute the one-loop corrections to its evolution. For computations we utilize dimensional regularization and the propagators in the unitary gauge. The corrections to both the scalar condensate and the energy-momentum tensor exhibit secular ultraviolet contributions, that tend to slow down the rolling of the scalar down its potential, and drive it away from the classical attractor. These corrections need not be suppressed if the U(1) charge is much larger than the scalar self-coupling, which is seen already in flat space. In addition, at late times the secular corrections necessarily invalidate the perturbative loop expansion. We find the late time secular corrections to be captured by the renormalization group, which opens up the possibility to resum them past the breakdown of perturbativity.

Critical Properties of Three-Dimensional Many-Flavor QEDs

We review several variants of three-dimensional quantum electrodynamics (QED3) with Nf fermion (or boson) flavors, including fermionic (or spinorial) QED3, bosonic (or scalar) QED3, N=1 supersymmetric QED and also models of reduced QED (supersymmetric or not). We begin with an introduction to these models and their flow to a stable infra-red fixed point in the large-Nf limit. We then present detailed state-of-the-art computations of the critical exponents of these models within the dimensional regularization (and reduction) scheme(s), at the next-to-leading order in the 1/Nf expansion and in an arbitrary covariant gauge. We finally discuss dynamical (matter) mass generation and the current status of our understanding of the phase structure of these models.

Protected and uniformly transcendental

We show that the two-point function of protected bi-scalar operators in N\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ \\mathcal{N} $$\\end{document} = 4 SYM evaluated in dimensional regularization exhibits a uniform transcendental weight up to three-loop order. We conjecture that this property holds for the whole perturbative series and leverage the explicit results to postulate a prediction for the leading, order ϵ, correction to all loop orders. We also consider the soft limit of three-point functions of such operators in momentum space and point out a simple and surprising perturbative relation to two-point functions, which we also extrapolate to all loop orders.

Feynman integrals from positivity constraints

We explore inequality constraints as a new tool for numerically evaluating Feynman integrals. A convergent Feynman integral is non-negative if the integrand is non-negative in either loop momentum space or Feynman parameter space. Applying various identities, all such integrals can be reduced to linear sums of a small set of master integrals, leading to infinitely many linear constraints on the values of the master integrals. The constraints can be solved as a semidefinite programming problem in mathematical optimization, producing rigorous two-sided bounds for the integrals which are observed to converge rapidly as more constraints are included, enabling high-precision determination of the integrals. Positivity constraints can also be formulated for the ϵ expansion terms in dimensional regularization and reveal hidden consistency relations between terms at different orders in ϵ. We introduce the main methods using one-loop bubble integrals, then present a nontrivial example of three-loop banana integrals with unequal masses, where 11 top-level master integrals are evaluated to high precision.

Jets in e+A SIDIS and Denominator Regularization

We compute the in-medium jet broadening to leading order in energy in the opacity expansion. At leading order in αs the elastic energy loss gives a jet broadening that grows with ln E. The next-to-leading order in αs result is a jet narrowing, due to destructive LPM interference effects, that grows with ln2 E. We find that in the opacity expansion the jet broadening asymptotics are— unlike for the mean energy loss—extremely sensitive to the correct treatment of the finite kinematics of the problem; integrating over all emitted gluon transverse momenta leads to a prediction of jet broadening rather than narrowing. We compare the asymptotics from the opacity expansion to a recent twist-4 derivation and find a qualitative disagreement: the twist-4 derivation predicts a jet broadening rather than a narrowing. Comparison with current jet measurements cannot distinguish between the broadening or narrowing predictions. We comment on the origin of the difference between the opacity expansion and twist-4 results.We also introduce a novel regularization scheme in quantum field theory, denominator regularization (den reg). Den reg is as simple to apply as the usual dimensional regularization, works simply with a minimal subtraction scheme, and manifestly 1) maintains Lorentz invariance, 2) maintains gauge invariance, 3) maintains supersymmetry, 4) correctly predicts the axial anomaly, and 5) yields Green functions that satisfy the Callan-Symanzik equation. Den reg also naturally enables regularization in asymmetric spacetimes, finite spacetimes, curved spacetimes, and in thermal field theory.