Functional Renormalization Group Flow Equations Research Articles

Exact flow equation for the divergence functional

An exact functional renormalization group flow equation is derived for the divergence functional which is a generalization of the Kullback-Leibler divergence to quantum field theories in the Euclidean domain. It compares distributions with different sources and field expectation values. The renormalization group flow for a regularized version of this functional connects two limits: one where the functional is known in terms of the microscopic action or probability distribution, and the other where all fluctuations are taken into account. In the latter limit one can obtain full correlation functions from functional derivatives of the divergence functional. The flow equation provides a possibility to determine this functional non-perturbatively.

On the renormalization of non-polynomial field theories

A class of scalar models with non-polynomial interaction, which naturally admits an analytical resummation of the series of tadpole diagrams is studied in perturbation theory. In particular, we focus on a model containing only one renormalizable coupling that appear as a multiplicative coefficient of the squared field. A renormalization group analysis of the Green functions of the model shows that these are only approximated solutions of the flow equations, with errors proportional to powers of the coupling, therefore smaller in the region of weak coupling. The final output of the perturbative analysis is that the renormalized model is non-interacting with finite mass and vanishing vertices or, in an effective theory limited by an ultraviolet cut-off, the vertices are suppressed by powers of the inverse cut-off. The relation with some non-polynomial interactions derived long ago, as solutions of the linearized functional renormalization group flow equations, is also discussed.

Spin-functional renormalization group for the J1J2J3 quantum Heisenberg model

We use our recently developed functional renormalization group (FRG) approach for quantum spin systems to investigate the phase diagram of the frustrated $J_{1}J_{2}J_{3}$ quantum Heisenberg model on a cubic lattice. From a simple truncation of the hierarchy of FRG flow equations for the irreducible spin-vertices which retains only static spin fluctuations and neglects the flow of the four-spin interaction, we can estimate the critical temperature with a similar accuracy as the numerically more expensive pseudofermion FRG. In the regime where the ground state exhibits either ferromagnetic or antiferromagnetic order, a more sophisticated truncation including the renormalization of the four-spin interaction as well as dynamic spin fluctuations reveals the underlying renormalization group fixed point and yields critical temperatures which deviate from the accepted values by at most 4%.

Structural aspects of FRG in quantum tunneling computations

We probe both the unidimensional quartic harmonic oscillator and the double well potential through a numerical analysis of the Functional Renormalization Group flow equations truncated at first order in the derivative expansion. The two partial differential equations for the potential Vk(φ) and the wave function renormalization Zk(φ), as obtained in different schemes and with distinct regulators, are studied down to k=0, and the energy gap between lowest and first excited state is computed, in order to test the reliability of the approach in a strongly non-perturbative regime. Our findings point out at least three ranges of the quartic coupling λ, one with higher λ where the lowest order approximation is already accurate, the intermediate one where the inclusion of the first correction produces a good agreement with the exact results and, finally, the one with smallest λ where presumably the higher order correction of the flow is needed. Some details of the specifics of the infrared regulator are also discussed.

Fluctuating vector mesons in analytically continued functional RG flow equations

In this work we study contributions due to vector and axial-vector meson fluctuations to their in-medium spectral functions in an effective low-energy theory inspired by the gauged linear sigma model. In particular, we show how to describe these fluctuations in the effective theory by massive (axial-)vector fields in agreement with the known structure of analogous single-particle or resonance contributions to the corresponding conserved currents. The vector and axial-vector meson spectral functions are then computed by numerically solving the analytically continued functional renormalization group flow equations for their retarded two-point functions at finite temperature and density in the effective theory. We identify the new contributions that arise due to the (axial-)vector meson fluctuations, and assess their influence on possible signatures of a QCD critical end point and the restoration of chiral symmetry in thermal dilepton spectra.

Renormalization group for the φ^{4} theory with long-range interaction and the critical exponent η of the Ising model.

We calculate the critical exponent η of the D-dimensional Ising model from a simple truncation of the functional renormalization group flow equations for a scalar field theory with long-range interaction. Our approach relies on the smallness of the inverse range of the interaction and on the assumption that the Ginzburg momentum defining the width of the scaling regime in momentum space is larger than the scale where the renormalized interaction crosses over from long range to short range; the numerical value of η can then be estimated by stopping the renormalization group flow at this scale. In three dimensions our result η=0.03651 is in good agreement with recent conformal bootstrap and Monte Carlo calculations. We extend our calculations to fractional dimensions D and obtain the resulting critical exponent η(D) between two and four dimensions. For dimensions 2≤D≤3 our result for η is consistent with previous calculations.

Functional renormalization group approach to interacting three-dimensional Weyl semimetals

We investigate the effect of long-range Coulomb interaction on the quasiparticle properties and the dielectric function of clean three-dimensional Weyl semimetals at zero temperature using a functional renormalization group (FRG) approach. The Coulomb interaction is represented via a bosonic Hubbard-Stratonovich field which couples to the fermionic density. We derive truncated FRG flow equations for the fermionic and bosonic self-energies and for the three-legged vertices with two fermionic and one bosonic external legs. We consider two different cutoff schemes --- cutoff in fermionic or bosonic propagators --- in order to calculate the renormalized quasiparticle velocity and the dielectric function for an arbitrary number of Weyl nodes and the interaction strength. If we approximate the dielectric function by its static limit, our results for the velocity and the dielectric function are in good agreement with that of A. A. Abrikosov and S. D. Beneslavski{\u{i}} [Sov. Phys. JETP \textbf{32}, 699 (1971)] exhibiting slowly varying logarithmic momentum dependence for small momenta. We extend their result for an arbitrary number of Weyl nodes and finite frequency by evaluating the renormalized velocity in the presence of dynamic screening and calculate the wave function renormalization.

Dual lattice functional renormalization group for the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition: Irrelevance of amplitude and out-of-plane fluctuations.

We develop a functional renormalization group (FRG) approach for the two-dimensional XY model by combining the lattice FRG proposed by Machado and Dupuis [Phys. Rev. E 82, 041128 (2010)PLEEE81539-375510.1103/PhysRevE.82.041128] with a duality transformation that explicitly introduces vortices via an integer-valued field. We show that the hierarchy of FRG flow equations for the infinite set of relevant and marginal couplings of the model can be reduced to the well-known Kosterlitz-Thouless renormalization group equations for the renormalized temperature and the vortex fugacity. Within our approach it is straightforward to include weak amplitude as well as out-of-plane fluctuations of the spins, which lead to additional interactions between the vortices that do not spoil the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition. This demonstrates that previous failures to obtain a line of true fixed points within the FRG are a mathematical artifact of insufficient truncation schemes.

Thermodynamics and renormalized quasiparticles in the vicinity of the dilute Bose gas quantum critical point in two dimensions

We use the functional renormalization group (FRG) to derive analytical expressions for thermodynamic observables (density, pressure, entropy, and compressibility) as well as for single-particle properties (wavefunction renormalization and effective mass) of interacting bosons in two dimensions as a function of temperature $T$ and chemical potential $\mu$. We focus on the quantum disordered and the quantum critical regime close to the dilute Bose gas quantum critical point. Our approach is based on a truncated vertex expansion of the hierarchy of FRG flow equations and the decoupling of the two-body contact interaction in the particle-particle channel using a suitable Hubbard-Stratonovich transformation. Our analytic FRG results extend previous analytical renormalization group calculations for thermodynamic observables at $\mu =0$ to finite values of $\mu$. To confirm the validity of our FRG approach, we have also performed quantum Monte Carlo simulations to obtain the magnetization, the susceptibility, and the correlation length of the two-dimensional spin-$1/2$ quantum $XY$ model with coupling $J$ in a regime where its quantum critical behavior is controlled by the dilute Bose gas quantum critical point. We find that our analytical results describe the Monte Carlo data for $\mu \leq 0$ rather accurately up to relatively high temperatures $T \lesssim 0.1 J$.

Scheme dependence and universality in the functional renormalization group

We prove that the functional renormalization group flow equation admits a perturbative solution and show explicitly the scheme transformation that relates it to the standard schemes of perturbation theory. We then define a universal scheme within the functional renormalization group.

A COMPARED ANALYSIS OF THE SUSCEPTIBILITY IN THE O(N) THEORY

The longitudinal susceptibility χL of the O(N) theory in the broken phase is analyzed by means of three different approaches, namely the leading contribution of the 1/N expansion, the Functional Renormalization Group flow in the Local Potential approximation and the improved effective potential via the Callan–Symanzik equations, properly extended to d = 4 dimensions through the expansion in powers of ϵ = 4-d. The findings of the three approaches are compared and their agreement in the large N limit is shown. The numerical analysis of the Functional Renormalization Group flow equations at small N supports the vanishing of [Formula: see text] in d = 3 and d = 3.5 but is not conclusive in d = 4, where we have to resort to the Callan–Smanzik approach. At finite N as well as in the limit N→∞, we find that [Formula: see text] vanishes with J as Jϵ/2 for ϵ> 0 and as ( ln (J))-1 in d = 4.

Thermalization of magnons in yttrium-iron garnet: Nonequilibrium functional renormalization group approach

Using a nonequilibrium functional renormalization group (FRG) approach we calculate the time evolution of the momentum distribution of a magnon gas in contact with a thermal phonon bath. As a cutoff for the FRG procedure we use a hybridization parameter $\ensuremath{\Lambda}$ giving rise to an artificial damping of the phonons. Within our truncation of the FRG flow equations the time evolution of the magnon distribution is obtained from a rate equation involving cutoff-dependent nonequilibrium self-energies, which in turn satisfy FRG flow equations depending on cutoff-dependent transition rates. Our approach goes beyond the Born collision approximation and takes the feedback of the magnons on the phonons into account. We use our method to calculate the thermalization of a quasi-two-dimensional magnon gas in the magnetic insulator yttrium-iron garnet after a highly excited initial state has been generated by an external microwave field. We obtain good agreement with recent experiments.

Functional renormalization group approach to the Ising-nematic quantum critical point of two-dimensional metals

Using functional renormalization group methods, we study an effective low-energy model describing the Ising-nematic quantum critical point in two-dimensional metals. We treat both gapless fermionic and bosonic degrees of freedom on equal footing and explicitly calculate the momentum and frequency dependent effective interaction between the fermions mediated by the bosonic fluctuations. Following earlier work by S.-S. Lee for a one-patch model, Metlitski and Sachdev [Phys. Rev. B {\bf{82}}, 075127] recently found within a field-theoretical approach that certain three-loop diagrams strongly modify the one-loop results, and that the conventional 1/N expansion breaks down in this problem. We show that the singular three-loop diagrams considered by Metlitski and Sachdev are included in a rather simple truncation of the functional renormalization group flow equations for this model involving only irreducible vertices with two and three external legs. Our approximate solution of these flow equations explicitly yields the vertex corrections of this problem and allows us to calculate the anomalous dimension $\eta_{\psi}$ of the fermion field.

Functional renormalization group flow equation: Regularization and coarse-graining in phase space

Starting from the basic path integral in phase space we reconsider the functional approach to the renormalization group flow of the one particle irreducible effective average action. On employing a balanced coarse-graining procedure for the canonical variables we obtain a functional integral with a non trivial measure which leads to a modified flow equation. We first address quantum mechanics for boson and fermion degrees of freedom, and we then extend the construction to quantum field theories. For this modified flow equation we discuss the reconstruction of the bare action and the implications on the computation of the vacuum energy density.

The Influence of Quantum Fluctuations on Thermodynamics near Chiral Phase Transition

We discuss the influence of fluctuations on thermodynamics near the chiral phase transition within Polyakov loop extended quark--meson model based on the functional renormalization group (FRG) method. We include the gluon fields in the FRG flow equation self-consistently on the mean-field level. We focus on the properties of the phase diagram and net-baryon number fluctuations.

The functional renormalization group and O(4) scaling

The critical behavior of the chiral quark-meson model is studied within the Functional Renormalization Group (FRG). We derive the flow equation for the scale-dependent thermodynamic potential at finite temperature and density in the presence of a symmetry-breaking external field. We perform a set of approximations to formulate and solve the FRG flow equation in the presence of fermionic degrees of freedom and test their influence on the O(4) critical properties expected in the quark-meson model. Within this scheme, the critical scaling behavior of the order parameter, its transverse and longitudinal susceptibilities as well as the correlation lengths near the chiral phase transition are computed for vanishing baryon density. We focus on the scaling properties of these observables at non-vanishing external field when approaching the critical point from the symmetric as well as from the broken phase. We confront our numerical results with the Widom–Griffiths form of the magnetic equation of state, obtained by a systematic ε expansion of the scaling function.

Condensate density of interacting bosons: A functional renormalization group approach

We calculate the temperature-dependent condensate density rho0(T) of interacting bosons in three dimensions using the functional renormalization group (FRG). From the numerical solution of suitably truncated FRG flow equations for the irreducible vertices we obtain rho0(T) for arbitrary temperatures. We carefully extrapolate our numerical results to the critical point and determine the order parameter exponent beta approximately 0.32 in reasonable agreement with the expected value 0.345 associated with the XY -universality class. We also calculate the condensate density in two dimensions at zero temperature using a truncation of the FRG flow equations based on the derivative expansion including cubic and quartic terms in the expansion of the effective potential in powers of the density. As compared with the widely used quadratic approximation for the effective potential, the coupling constants associated with the cubic and quartic terms lead to small corrections of the condensate density.

A functional renormalization group approach to the Anderson impurity model

We develop a functional renormalization group approach which describes the low-energysingle-particle properties of the Anderson impurity model up to intermediate on-siteinteractions , where Δ is the hybridization in the wide-band limit. Our method is based on a generalization of amethod proposed by Schütz et al (2005 Phys. Rev. B 72 035107), using two independentHubbard–Stratonovich fields associated with transverse and longitudinal spin fluctuations.Although we do not reproduce the exponentially small Kondo scale in the limit , the spin fluctuations included in our approach remove theunphysical Stoner instability predicted by mean field theory forU>πΔ. We discuss different decoupling schemes and show that a decoupling which manifestlyrespects the spin-rotational invariance of the problem gives rise to the lowest quasiparticleweight. To obtain a closed flow equation for the fermionic self-energy we also propose a newscheme of truncation of the functional renormalization group flow equations usingDyson–Schwinger equations to express bosonic vertex functions in terms of fermionic ones.

A finite-frequency functional renormalization group approach to the single impurityAnderson model

We use the Matsubara functional renormalization group (FRG) to describe electroniccorrelations within the single impurity Anderson model. In contrast to standardFRG calculations, we account for the frequency dependence of the two-particlevertex in order to address finite-energy properties (e.g, spectral functions). Bycomparing with data obtained from the numerical renormalization group (NRG)framework, the FRG approximation is shown to work well for arbitrary parameters(particularly finite temperatures) provided that the electron–electron interactionU is not too large. We demonstrate that aspects of (largeU) Kondo physics which are described well by a simpler frequency-independenttruncation scheme are no longer captured by the ‘higher-order’frequency-dependent approximation. In contrast, at small to intermediateU the results obtained by the more elaborate scheme agree better with NRG data. We suggestto parametrize the two-particle vertex not by three independent energy variables but byintroducing three functions each of a single frequency. This considerably reduces thenumerical effort to integrate the FRG flow equations.

Isospin effects on nuclear dynamics and thermodynamics

Functional renormalization group (FRG) methods applied to calculations of isospin-symmetric and asymmetric nuclear matter as well as neutron matter are reviewed. The approach is based on a chiral Lagrangian expressed in terms of nucleon and meson degrees of freedom as appropriate for the hadronic phase of QCD with spontaneously broken chiral symmetry. Fluctuations beyond mean-field approximation are treated solving Wetterich’s FRG flow equations. Nuclear thermodynamics and the nuclear liquid–gas phase transition are investigated in detail, both in symmetric matter and as a function of the proton fraction in asymmetric matter. The equations of state at zero temperature of symmetric nuclear matter and pure neutron matter are found to be in good agreement with advanced ab-initio many-body computations. Contacts with perturbative many-body approaches (in-medium chiral perturbation theory) are discussed. As an interesting test case, the density dependence of the pion mass in the medium is investigated. The question of chiral symmetry restoration in nuclear and neutron matter is addressed. A stabilization of the phase with spontaneously broken chiral symmetry is found to persist up to high baryon densities once fluctuations beyond mean-field are included. Neutron star matter including beta equilibrium is discussed under the aspect of the constraints imposed by the existence of two-solar-mass neutron stars.