Renormalizable Theory Research Articles

Renormalization of massive Feynman amplitudes and homogeneity (based on a joint work with Raymond Stora)

We propose a new renormalization procedure to all orders in perturbation theory, which is formulated on an extended position space. This allows us to apply methods from massless Quantum Field Theory to models of massive fields. These include the technique of homogeneous and associate homogeneous distributions for the extension problem contained in the renormalization theory on position space. This also makes it possible to generalize the notion of residues of Feynman amplitudes, which characterize the presence of additional scales due to renormalization, to the massive case.

Local renormalization of supersymmetric Yang-Mills theories

We show how to consistently renormalize $\mathcal{N} = 1$ and $\mathcal{N} = 2$ super-Yang-Mills theories in flat space with a local (i.e. space-time-dependent) renormalization scale in a holomorphic scheme. The action gets enhanced by a term proportional to derivatives of the holomorphic coupling. In the $\mathcal{N} = 2$ case, this new action is exact at all orders in perturbation theory.

A pedagogical remark on the main theorem of perturbative renormalization theory

In this note, it is proven that, given two perturbative constructions of time-ordered products via the Bogoliubov-Epstein-Glaser recursion, both sets of coupling functions are related by a local formal power series, recursively determined by causality.

Zero-point term and quantum effects in the Johnson noise of resistors: a critical appraisal

There is a longstanding debate about the zero-point term in the Johnson noise voltage of a resistor. This term originates from a quantum-theoretical treatment of the fluctuation-dissipation theorem (FDT). Is the zero-point term really there, or is it only an experimental artifact, due to the uncertainty principle, for phase-sensitive amplifiers? Could it be removed by renormalization of theories? We discuss some historical measurement schemes that do not lead to the effect predicted by the FDT, and we analyse new features that emerge when the consequences of the zero-point term are measured via the mean energy and force in a capacitor shunting the resistor. If these measurements verify the existence of a zero-point term in the noise, then two types of perpetual motion machines can be constructed. Further investigation with the same approach shows that, in the quantum limit, the Johnson–Nyquist formula is also invalid under general conditions even though it is valid for a resistor-antenna system. Therefore we conclude that in a satisfactory quantum theory of the Johnson noise, the FDT must, as a minimum, include also the measurement system used to evaluate the observed quantities. Issues concerning the zero-point term may also have implications for phenomena in advanced nanotechnology.

The antiferromagnetic cross-coupled spin ladder: Quantum fidelity and tensor networks approach

We investigate the phase diagram of the cross-coupled Heisenberg spin ladder with antiferromagnetic couplings. For this model there have been conflicting results for the existence of the columnar dimer phase, which was predicted on the basis of weak coupling field theory renormalisation group arguments. The numerical work on this model has been based on various approaches, including exact diagonalization, series expansions and density-matrix renormalization group calculations. Using the recently developed tensor network states and ground-state fidelity approach for quantum spin ladders we find no evidence for the existence of the columnar dimer phase. We also provide an argument based on the symmetry of the Hamiltonian which suggests that the phase diagram for antiferromagnetic couplings consists of a single line separating the rung-singlet and Haldane phases.

Charge renormalization in nominally apolar colloidal dispersions.

We present high-resolution measurements of the pair interactions between dielectric spheres dispersed in a fluid medium with a low dielectric constant. Despite the absence of charge control agents or added organic salts, these measurements reveal strong and long-ranged repulsions consistent with substantial charges on the particles whose interactions are screened by trace concentrations of mobile ions in solution. The dependence of the estimated charge on the particles' radii is consistent with charge renormalization theory and, thus, offers insights into the charging mechanism in this interesting class of model systems. The measurement technique, based on optical-tweezer manipulation and artifact-free particle tracking, makes use of optimal statistical methods to reduce measurement errors to the femtonewton frontier while covering an extremely wide range of interaction energies.

Ward–Takahashi identities for Abelian chiral gauge theories

By considering a general Abelian chiral gauge theory, we investigate the behavior of anomalous Ward–Takahashi (WT) identities concerning their prediction for the usual relationship between the vertex and two-point fermion functions. Using gauge anomaly vanishing results, we show that the usual (in the nonanomalous case) WT identity connecting the vertex and two-point fermion 1PI functions is modified for Abelian chiral gauge theories. The modification, however, implies a relation between fermion and charge renormalization constants that can be important in a future study of renormalization of such theories.

Examining a covariant and renormalizable quantum field theory in de Sitter space by studying “black hole radiation”

Respecting that any consistent quantum field theory in curved space–time must include black hole radiation, in this paper, we examine the Krein–Gupta–Bleuler (KGB) formalism as an inevitable quantization scheme in order to follow the guideline of the covariance of minimally coupled massless scalar field and linear gravity on de Sitter (dS) background in the sense of Wightman–Gärding approach, by investigating thermodynamical aspects of black holes. The formalism is interestingly free of pathological large distance behavior. In this construction, also, no infinite term appears in the calculation of expectation values of the energy–momentum tensor (we have an automatic and covariant renormalization) which results in the vacuum energy of the free field to vanish. However, the existence of an effective potential barrier, intrinsically created by black holes gravitational field, gives a Casimir-type contribution to the vacuum expectation value of the energy–momentum tensor. On this basis, by evaluating the Casimir energy–momentum tensor for a conformally coupled massless scalar field in the vicinity of a nonrotating black hole event horizon through the KGB quantization, in this work, we explicitly prove that the hole produces black-body radiation which its temperature exactly coincides with the result obtained by Hawking for black hole radiation.

Anomalous dimensions on the lattice

We review methods and results for extracting the anomalous dimensions of operators from lattice field theory calculations. The most important application is the anomalous mass dimension in conformal or nearly conformal gauge field theories which might be related to dynamical electroweak symmetry breaking. Some discussion of the underlying theory of renormalization and mixing of operators is also included.

Large field excursions and approximate discrete symmetries from a clockwork axion

We present a renormalizable theory of scalars in which the low energy effective theory contains a pseudo-Goldstone Boson with a compact field space of 2{\pi} F and an approximate discrete shift symmetry Z_Q with Q>>1, yet the number of fields in the theory goes as log(Q). Such a model can serve as a UV completion to models of relaxions and is a new source of exponential scale separation in field theory. While the model is local in `theory space', it appears to not have a continuum generalization (i.e., it cannot be a deconstructed extra dimension). Our framework shows that super-Planckian field excursions can be mimicked while sticking to renormalizable four-dimensional quantum field theory. We show that a supersymmetric extension is straightforwardly obtained and we illustrate possible UV completions based on a compact extra-dimension, where all global symmetries arise accidentally as a consequence of gauge invariance and 5D locality.

Quantum mechanics of 4-derivative theories.

A renormalizable theory of gravity is obtained if the dimension-less 4-derivative kinetic term of the graviton, which classically suffers from negative unbounded energy, admits a sensible quantization. We find that a 4-derivative degree of freedom involves a canonical coordinate with unusual time-inversion parity, and that a correspondingly unusual representation must be employed for the relative quantum operator. The resulting theory has positive energy eigenvalues, normalizable wavefunctions, unitary evolution in a negative-norm configuration space. We present a formalism for quantum mechanics with a generic norm.

Background field method and the cohomology of renormalization

Using the background field method and the Batalin-Vilkovisky formalism, we prove a key theorem on the cohomology of perturbatively local functionals of arbitrary ghost numbers in renormalizable and nonrenormalizable quantum field theories whose gauge symmetries are general covariance, local Lorentz symmetry, non-Abelian Yang-Mills symmetries and Abelian gauge symmetries. Interpolating between the background field approach and the usual, nonbackground approach by means of a canonical transformation, we take advantage of the properties of both approaches and prove that a closed functional is the sum of an exact functional plus a functional that depends only on the physical fields and possibly the ghosts. The assumptions of the theorem are the mathematical versions of general properties that characterize the counterterms and the local contributions to the potential anomalies. This makes the outcome a theorem on the cohomology of renormalization, rather than the whole local cohomology. The result supersedes numerous involved arguments that are available in the literature.

Haag's theorem in renormalisable quantum field theories

Wir betrachten eine Reihe von Trivialitats- resultaten und No-Go-Theoremen aus der Axiomatischen Quantenfeldtheorie. Von besonderem Interesse ist Haags Theorem. Im Wesentlichen sagt es aus, dass der unitare Intertwiner des Wechselwirkungsbildes nicht existiert oder trivial ist. Als wichtigste Voraussetzung von Haags Theorem arbeiten wir die unitare Aquivalenz heraus und unterziehen die kanonische Storungstheorie skalarer Felder einer Kritik um zu argumentieren, dass die kanonisch renormierte Quantenfeldtheorie Haags Theorem umgeht, da sie genau diese Bedingung nicht erfullt. Der Hopfalgebraische Zugang zur perturbativen Quantenfeldtheorie bietet die Moglichkeit, Dyson-Schwinger-und Renormierungsgruppengleichungen mathematisch sauber herzuleiten, wenn auch mit rein kombinatorischem Ausgangspunkt. Wir prasentieren eine Beschreibung dieser Methode und diskutieren eine gewohnliche Differentialgleichung fur die anomale Dimension des Photons. Eine Spielzeugmodellversion dieser Gleichung lasst sich exakt losen; ihre Losung weist eine interessante nichtstorunsgtheoretische Eigenschaft auf, deren Auswirkungen auf die laufende Kopplung und die Selbstenergie des Photons wir untersuchen. Solche nichtperturbativen Beitrage mogen die Existenz eines Landau-Pols ausschliessen, ein Sachverhalt, den wir ebenfalls diskutieren. Unter der Arbeitshypothese, dass die anomale Dimension eines Quantenfeldes in die Klasse der resurgenten Funktionen fallt, studieren wir, welche Bedingungen die Dyson-Schwinger-und Renormierungsgruppengleichungen an ihre Transreihe stellen. Wir stellen fest, dass diese unter bestimmten Bedingungen kodieren, wie der perturbative Sektor den nichtperturbativen vollstandig determiniert.%%%%We review a package of triviality results and no-go theorems in axiomatic quantum field theory. Of particular interest is Haag''s theorem. It essentially says that the unitary intertwiner of the interaction picture does not exist unless it is trivial. We single out unitary equivalence as the most salient provision of Haag''s theorem and critique canonical perturbation theory for scalar fields to argue that canonically renormalised quantum field theory bypasses Haag''s theorem by violating this very assumption. The Hopf-algebraic approach to perturbative quantum field theory allows us to derive Dyson-Schwinger equations and the Callan-Symanzik equation in a mathematically sound way, albeit starting with a purely combinatorial setting. We present a pedagogical account of this method and discuss an ordinary differential equation for the anomalous dimension of the photon. A toy model version of this equation can be solved exactly; its solution exhibits an interesting nonperturbative feature whose effect on the running coupling and the self-energy of the photon we investigate. Such nonperturbative contributions may exclude the existence of a Landau pole, an issue that we also discuss. On the working hypothesis that the anomalous dimension of a quantum field falls into the class of resurgent functions, we…

Holographic renormalisation group flows and renormalisation from a Wilsonian perspective

From the Wilsonian point of view, renormalisable theories are understood as submanifolds in theory space emanating from a particular fixed point under renormalisation group evolution. We show how this picture precisely applies to their gravity duals. We investigate the Hamilton-Jacobi equation satisfied by the Wilson action and find the corresponding fixed points and their eigendeformations, which have a diagonal evolution close to the fixed points. The relevant eigendeformations are used to construct renormalised theories. We explore the relation of this formalism with holographic renormalisation. We also discuss different renormalisation schemes and show that the solutions to the gravity equations of motion can be used as renormalised couplings that parametrise the renormalised theories. This provides a transparent connection between holographic renormalisation group flows in the Wilsonian and non-Wilsonian approaches. The general results are illustrated by explicit calculations in an interacting scalar theory in AdS space.

Towards ferromagnetic quantum criticality inFeGa3−xGex:Ga71NQR as a zero-field microscopic probe

$^{71}\mathrm{Ga}$ NQR, magnetization, and specific-heat measurements have been performed on polycrystalline Ge-doped ${\mathrm{FeGa}}_{3}$ samples. A crossover from an insulator to a correlated local moment metal in the low-doping regime and the evolution of itinerant ferromagnet upon further doping is found. For the nearly critical concentration at the threshold of ferromagnetic order, ${x}_{C}=0.15, ^{71}(1/{T}_{1}T)$ exhibits a pronounced ${T}^{\ensuremath{-}4/3}$ power law over two orders of magnitude in temperature, which indicates three-dimensional quantum critical ferromagnetic fluctuations. Furthermore, for the ordered $x=0.2$ sample (${T}_{C}\ensuremath{\approx}6$ K), $^{71}(1/{T}_{1}T)$ could be fitted well in the frame of Moriya's self-consistent renormalization theory for weakly ferromagnetic systems with $1/{T}_{1}T\ensuremath{\sim}\ensuremath{\chi}$. In contrast to this, the low-doping regime nicely displays local moment behavior where $1/{T}_{1}T\ensuremath{\sim}{\ensuremath{\chi}}^{2}$ is valid. For $T\ensuremath{\rightarrow}0$, the Sommerfeld ratio $\ensuremath{\gamma}=(C/T)$ is enhanced $(70\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}\mathrm{mJ}/\mathrm{mole}\phantom{\rule{0.28em}{0ex}}{\mathrm{K}}^{2}$ for $x=0.1)$, which indicates the formation of heavy $3d$ electrons.

Haag's theorem in renormalisable quantum field theories

We review a package of no-go results in axiomatic quantum field theory with Haag's theorem at its centre. Since the concept of operator-valued distributions in this framework comes very close to what we believe canonical quantum fields are about, these results are of consequence to quantum field theory: they suggest the seeming absurdity that this highly victorious theory is incapable of describing interactions. We single out unitarity of the interaction picture's intertwiner as the most salient provision of Haag's theorem and critique canonical perturbation theory to argue that renormalisation bypasses Haag's theorem by violating this very assumption.

The metric on field space, functional renormalization, and metric–torsion quantum gravity

Searching for new non-perturbatively renormalizable quantum gravity theories, functional renormalization group (RG) flows are studied on a theory space of action functionals depending on the metric and the torsion tensor, the latter parameterized by three irreducible component fields. A detailed comparison with Quantum Einstein–Cartan Gravity (QECG), Quantum Einstein Gravity (QEG), and “tetrad-only” gravity, all based on different theory spaces, is performed. It is demonstrated that, over a generic theory space, the construction of a functional RG equation (FRGE) for the effective average action requires the specification of a metric on the infinite-dimensional field manifold as an additional input. A modified FRGE is obtained if this metric is scale-dependent, as it happens in the metric–torsion system considered.

Interplay between grand unification and supersymmetry in SU(5) and E 6

Some aspects of minimal supersymmetric renormalizable grand unified theories are reviewed here. These include some constraints on the model parameters from the Higgs and light fermion masses in SU(5), and the issues of symmetry breaking, doublet–triplet splitting and fermion masses in E 6.

Counting RG flows

Interpreting renormalization group flows as solitons interpolating between different fixed points, we ask various questions that are normally asked in soliton physics but not in renormalization theory. Can one count RG flows? Are there different "topological sectors" for RG flows? What is the moduli space of an RG flow, and how does it compare to familiar moduli spaces of (supersymmetric) dowain walls? Analyzing these questions in a wide variety of contexts --- from counting RG walls to AdS/CFT correspondence --- will not only provide favorable answers, but will also lead us to a unified general framework that is powerful enough to account for peculiar RG flows and predict new physical phenomena. Namely, using Bott's version of Morse theory we relate the topology of conformal manifolds to certain properties of RG flows that can be used as precise diagnostics and "topological obstructions" for the strong form of the C-theorem in any dimension. Moreover, this framework suggests a precise mechanism for how the violation of the strong C-theorem happens and predicts "phase transitions" along the RG flow when the topological obstruction is non-trivial. Along the way, we also find new conformal manifolds in well-known 4d CFT's and point out connections with the superconformal index and classifying spaces of global symmetry groups.

Inflation with light Weyl ghost

Inflationary perturbations are considered in a renormalizable but non-unitary theory of gravity with the additional Weyl term. We obtained that ghost degrees of freedom do not spoil the inflation and the scalar perturbation amplitude at the linear level even in a case of the ghost with mass smaller than Hubble parameter at inflation. The ghost impact to the observables is also estimated to be negligible for the range of masses allowed by the experiment. The non-linear level of the theory and its possible application are also discussed.