Rigorous Renormalization Group Research Articles

Nonperturbative RG for the weak interaction corrections to the magnetic moment

We analyze, by rigorous renormalization group methods, a Fermi model for weak forces with a single family of leptons, one massless and the other with mass m=Me−β, with M the gauge boson mass, a quartic nonlocal interaction with coupling λ2, and a momentum cutoff Λ. The magnetic moment is written as a series in λ2, with n-th coefficients bounded by Cn(m2M2)β2n(Λ2M2)(1+0+)(n−1) if C is a constant; this implies convergence and provides nonperturbative bounds on the higher order contributions. The fact that the magnetic moment is associated with a dimensionally irrelevant quantity requires the implementation of cancellations in the multiscale analysis. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Rigorous renormalization group

Rigorous renormalization group

Uncomputably complex renormalisation group flows.

Renormalisation group methods are among the most important techniques for analysing the physics of many-body systems: by iterating a renormalisation group map, which coarse-grains the description of a system and generates a flow in the parameter space, physical properties of interest can be extracted. However, recent work has shown that important physical features, such as the spectral gap and phase diagram, may be impossible to determine, even in principle. Following these insights, we construct a rigorous renormalisation group map for the original undecidable many-body system that appeared in the literature, which reveals a renormalisation group flow so complex that it cannot be predicted. We prove that each step of this map is computable, and that it converges to the correct fixed points, yet the resulting flow is uncomputable. This extreme form of unpredictability for renormalisation group flows had not been shown before and goes beyond the chaotic behaviour seen previously.

Multi-channel Luttinger Liquids at the Edge of Quantum Hall Systems

We consider the edge transport properties of a generic class of interacting quantum Hall systems on a cylinder, in the infinite volume and zero temperature limit. We prove that the large-scale behavior of the edge correlation functions is effectively described by the multi-channel Luttinger model. In particular, we prove that the edge conductance is universal, and equal to the sum of the chiralities of the non-interacting edge modes. The proof is based on rigorous renormalization group methods, that allow to fully take into account the effect of backscattering at the edge. Universality arises as a consequence of the integrability of the emergent multi-channel Luttinger liquid combined with lattice Ward identities for the microscopic 2d theory.

Infinite randomness with continuously varying critical exponents in the random XYZ spin chain

We study the antiferromagnetic XYZ spin chain with quenched bond randomness, focusing on a critical line between localized Ising magnetic phases. A previous calculation using the spectrum-bifurcation renormalization group, and assuming marginal many-body localization, proposed that critical indices vary continuously. In this work we solve the low-energy physics using an unbiased numerically exact tensor network method named the "rigorous renormalization group." We find a line of fixed points consistent with infinite-randomness phenomenology, with indeed continuously varying critical exponents for average spin correlations. A self-consistent Hartree-Fock-type treatment of the $z$ couplings as interactions added to the free-fermion random XY model captures much of the important physics including the varying exponents; we provide an understanding of this as a result of local correlation induced between the mean-field couplings. We solve the problem of the locally-correlated XY spin chain with arbitrary degree of correlation and provide analytical strong-disorder renormalization group proofs of continuously varying exponents based on an associated classical random walk problem. This is also an example of a line of fixed points with continuously varying exponents in the equivalent disordered free-fermion chain. We argue that this line of fixed points also controls an extended region of the critical interacting XYZ spin chain.

Scaling Limits of Lattice Quantum Fields by Wavelets

We present a rigorous renormalization group scheme for lattice quantum field theories in terms of operator algebras. The renormalization group is considered as an inductive system of scaling maps between lattice field algebras. We construct scaling maps for scalar lattice fields using Daubechies’ wavelets, and show that the inductive limit of free lattice ground states exists and the limit state extends to the familiar massive continuum free field, with the continuum action of spacetime translations. In particular, lattice fields are identified with the continuum field smeared with Daubechies’ scaling functions. We compare our scaling maps with other renormalization schemes and their features, such as the momentum shell method or block-spin transformations.

Performance of the rigorous renormalization group for first-order phase transitions and topological phases

Expanding and improving the repertoire of numerical methods for studying quantum lattice models is an ongoing focus in many-body physics. While the density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) has been established as a practically useful algorithm for finding the ground state in 1D systems, a provably efficient and accurate algorithm remained elusive until the introduction of the rigorous renormalization group (RRG) by Landau et al. [Nature Physics 11, 566 (2015)]. In this paper, we study the accuracy and performance of a numerical implementation of RRG at first order phase transitions and in symmetry protected topological phases. Our study is motived by the question of when RRG might provide a useful complement to the more established DMRG technique. In particular, despite its general utility, DMRG can give unreliable results near first order phase transitions and in topological phases, since its local update procedure can fail to adequately explore (near) degenerate manifolds. The rigorous theoretical underpinnings of RRG, meanwhile, suggest that it should not suffer from the same difficulties. We show this optimism is justified, and that RRG indeed determines accurate, well-ordered energies even when DMRG does not. Moreover, our performance analysis indicates that in certain circumstances seeding DMRG with states determined by coarse runs of RRG may provide an advantage over simply performing DMRG.

Gentle introduction to rigorous Renormalization Group: a worked fermionic example

Much of our understanding of critical phenomena is based on the notion of Renormalization Group (RG), but the actual determination of its fixed points is usually based on approximations and truncations, and predictions of physical quantities are often of limited accuracy. The RG fixed points can be however given a fully rigorous and non- perturbative characterization, and this is what is presented here in a model of symplectic fermions with a nonlocal (“long-range”) kinetic term depending on a parameter ε and a quartic interaction. We identify the Banach space of interactions, which the fixed point belongs to, and we determine it via a convergent approximation scheme. The Banach space is not limited to relevant interactions, but it contains all possible irrelevant terms with short-ranged kernels, decaying like a stretched exponential at large distances. As the model shares a number of features in common with ϕ4 or Ising models, the result can be used as a benchmark to test the validity of truncations and approximations in RG studies. The analysis is based on results coming from Constructive RG to which we provide a tutorial and self-contained introduction. In addition, we prove that the fixed point is analytic in ε, a somewhat surprising fact relying on the fermionic nature of the problem.

A Supersymmetric Hierarchical Model for Weakly Disordered 3d Semimetals

In this paper, we study a hierarchical supersymmetric model for a class of gapless, three-dimensional, weakly disordered quantum systems, displaying pointlike Fermi surface and conical intersections of the energy bands in the absence of disorder. We use rigorous renormalization group methods and supersymmetry to compute the correlation functions of the system. We prove algebraic decay of the two-point correlation function, compatible with delocalization. A main technical ingredient is the multiscale analysis of massless bosonic Gaussian integrations with purely imaginary covariances, performed via iterative stationary phase expansions.

Three-dimensional tricritical spins and polymers

We consider two intimately related statistical mechanical problems on Z3: (i) the tricritical behavior of a model of classical unbounded n-component continuous spins with a triple-well single-spin potential (the |φ|6 model) and (ii) a random walk model of linear polymers with a three-body repulsion and two-body attraction at the tricritical theta point (critical point for the collapse transition), where repulsion and attraction effectively cancel. The polymer model is exactly equivalent to a supersymmetric spin model, which corresponds to the n = 0 version of the |φ|6 model. For the spin and polymer models, we identify the tricritical point and prove that the tricritical two-point function has Gaussian long-distance decay, namely, |x|−1. The proof is based on an extension of a rigorous renormalization group method that has been applied previously to analyze |φ|4 and weakly self-avoiding walk models on Z4.

A Study of Interaction Effects and Quantum Berezinskii- Kosterlitz-Thouless Transition in the Kitaev Chain

The physics of the topological state of matter is the second revolution in quantum mechanics. We study the effect of interactions on the topological quantum phase transition and the quantum Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (QBKT) transition in topological state of a quantum many-body condensed matter system. We predict a topological quantum phase transition from topological superconducting phase to an insulating phase for the interacting Kitaev chain. We observe interesting behaviour from the results of renormalization group study on the topological superconducting phase. We derive the renormalization group (RG) equation for QBKT through different routes with a few exact solutions along with the physical explanations, wherein we find the existence of two new important emergent phases apart from the two conventional phases of this model Hamiltonian. We also present results of a length-scale dependent study to predict asymptotic freedom like behaviour of the system. We do rigorous quantum field theoretical renormalization group calculations to solve this problem.

Towards Three-Dimensional Conformal Probability

In this outline of a program, based on rigorous renormalization group theory, we introduce new definitions which allow one to formulate precise mathematical conjectures related to conformal invariance as studied by physicists in the area known as higher-dimensional conformal bootstrap which has developed at a breathtaking pace over the last few years. We also explore a second theme, intimately tied to conformal invariance for random distributions, which can be construed as a search for very general first and second-quantized Kolmogorov-Chentsov Theorems. First-quantized refers to regularity of sample paths. Second-quantized refers to regularity of generalized functionals or Hida distributions and relates to the operator product expansion.We formulate this program in both the Archimedean and p-adic situations. Indeed, the study of conformal field theory and its connections with probability provides a golden opportunity where p-adic analysis can lead the way towards a better understanding of open problems in the Archimedean setting. Finally, we present a summary of progress made on a p-adic hierarchical model and point out possible connections to number theory. Parts of this article were presented in author’s talk at the 6th International Conference on p-adicMathematical Physics and its Applications,Mexico 2017.

Canonical Drude Weight for Non-integrable Quantum Spin Chains

The Drude weight is a central quantity for the transport properties of quantum spin chains. The canonical definition of Drude weight is directly related to Kubo formula of conductivity. However, the difficulty in the evaluation of such expression has led to several alternative formulations, accessible to different methods. In particular, the Euclidean, or imaginary-time, Drude weight can be studied via rigorous renormalization group. As a result, in the past years several universality results have been proven for such quantity at zero temperature; remarkably the proof works for both for integrable and non-integrable quantum spin chains. Here we establish the equivalence of Euclidean and canonical Drude weights at zero temperature. Our proof is based on rigorous renormalization group methods, Ward identities, and complex analytic ideas.

Implementation of rigorous renormalization group method for ground space and low-energy states of local Hamiltonians

The practical success of polynomial-time tensor network methods for computing ground states of certain quantum local Hamiltonians has recently been given a sound theoretical basis by Arad, Landau, Vazirani, and Vidick. The convergence proof, however, relies on "rigorous renormalization group" (RRG) techniques which differ fundamentally from existing algorithms. We introduce an efficient implementation of the theoretical RRG procedure which finds MPS ansatz approximations to the ground spaces and low-lying excited spectra of local Hamiltonians in situations of practical interest. In contrast to other schemes, RRG does not utilize variational methods on tensor networks. Rather, it operates on subsets of the system Hilbert space by constructing approximations to the global ground space in a tree-like manner. We evaluate the algorithm numerically, finding similar performance to DMRG in the case of a gapped nondegenerate Hamiltonian. Even in challenging situations of criticality, or large ground-state degeneracy, or long-range entanglement, RRG remains able to identify candidate states having large overlap with ground and low-energy eigenstates, outperforming DMRG in some cases.

Critical Exponents for Long-Range $${O(n)}$$ O ( n ) Models Below the Upper Critical Dimension

We consider the critical behaviour of long-range $O(n)$ models ($n \ge 0$) on ${\mathbb Z}^d$, with interaction that decays with distance $r$ as $r^{-(d+\alpha)}$, for $\alpha \in (0,2)$. For $n \ge 1$, we study the $n$-component $|\varphi|^4$ lattice spin model. For $n =0$, we study the weakly self-avoiding walk via an exact representation as a supersymmetric spin model. These models have upper critical dimension $d_c=2\alpha$. For dimensions $d=1,2,3$ and small $\epsilon>0$, we choose $\alpha = \frac 12 (d+\epsilon)$, so that $d=d_c-\epsilon$ is below the upper critical dimension. For small $\epsilon$ and weak coupling, to order $\epsilon$ we prove existence of and compute the values of the critical exponent $\gamma$ for the susceptibility (for $n \ge 0$) and the critical exponent $\alpha_H$ for the specific heat (for $n \ge 1$). For the susceptibility, $\gamma = 1 + \frac{n+2}{n+8} \frac \epsilon\alpha + O(\epsilon^2)$, and a similar result is proved for the specific heat. Expansion in $\epsilon$ for such long-range models was first carried out in the physics literature in 1972. Our proof adapts and applies a rigorous renormalisation group method developed in previous papers with Bauerschmidt and Brydges for the nearest-neighbour models in the critical dimension $d=4$, and is based on the construction of a non-Gaussian renormalisation group fixed point. Some aspects of the method simplify below the upper critical dimension, while some require different treatment, and new ideas and techniques with potential future application are introduced.

Critical Two-Point Function for Long-Range O(n) Models Below the Upper Critical Dimension

We consider the $n$-component $|\varphi|^4$ lattice spin model ($n \ge 1$) and the weakly self-avoiding walk ($n=0$) on $\mathbb{Z}^d$, in dimensions $d=1,2,3$. We study long-range models based on the fractional Laplacian, with spin-spin interactions or walk step probabilities decaying with distance $r$ as $r^{-(d+\alpha)}$ with $\alpha \in (0,2)$. The upper critical dimension is $d_c=2\alpha$. For $\epsilon >0$, and $\alpha = \frac 12 (d+\epsilon)$, the dimension $d=d_c-\epsilon$ is below the upper critical dimension. For small $\epsilon$, weak coupling, and all integers $n \ge 0$, we prove that the two-point function at the critical point decays with distance as $r^{-(d-\alpha)}$. This "sticking" of the critical exponent at its mean-field value was first predicted in the physics literature in 1972. Our proof is based on a rigorous renormalisation group method. The treatment of observables differs from that used in recent work on the nearest-neighbour 4-dimensional case, via our use of a cluster expansion.

Four-Dimensional Weakly Self-avoiding Walk with Contact Self-attraction

We consider the critical behaviour of the continuous-time weakly self-avoiding walk with contact self-attraction on $\mathbb{Z}^4$, for sufficiently small attraction. We prove that the susceptibility and correlation length of order $p$ (for any $p>0$) have logarithmic corrections to mean field scaling, and that the critical two-point function is asymptotic to a multiple of $|x|^{-2}$. This shows that small contact self-attraction results in the same critical behaviour as no contact self-attraction; a collapse transition is predicted for larger self-attraction. The proof uses a supersymmetric representation of the two-point function, and is based on a rigorous renormalisation group method that has been used to prove the same results for the weakly self-avoiding walk, without self-attraction.

Interacting spinning fermions with quasi‐random disorder

Interacting spinning fermions with strong quasi‐random disorder are analyzed via rigorous Renormalization Group (RG) methods combined with KAM techniques. The correlations are written in terms of an expansion whose convergence follows from number‐theoretical properties of the frequency and cancellations due to Pauli principle. A striking difference appears between spinless and spinning fermions; in the first case there are no relevant effective interactions while in presence of spin an additional relevant quartic term is present in the RG flow. The large distance exponential decay of the correlations present in the non interacting case, consequence of the single particle localization, is shown to persist in the spinning case only for temperatures greater than a power of the many body interaction, while in the spinless case this happens up to zero temperature. image

Dense gaps in the interacting Aubry-André model

We study, by rigorous Renormalization Group methods, the interacting Aubry-Andre' model for fermions in the extended regime. We show that the infinitely many gaps of the single particle spectrum persist in presence of weak many body interactions, despite the presence of Umklapp large momentum processes connecting the Fermi points. The width of the gaps is strongly renormalized through critical exponents which verify exact scaling relations.

Finite-Order Correlation Length for Four-Dimensional Weakly Self-Avoiding Walk and $${|\varphi|^4}$$ | φ | 4 Spins

We study the 4-dimensional $n$-component $|\varphi|^4$ spin model for all integers $n \ge 1$, and the 4-dimensional continuous-time weakly self-avoiding walk which corresponds exactly to the case $n=0$ interpreted as a supersymmetric spin model. For these models, we analyse the correlation length of order $p$, and prove the existence of a logarithmic correction to mean-field scaling, with power $\frac 12\frac{n+2}{n+8}$, for all $n \ge 0$ and $p>0$. The proof is based on an improvement of a rigorous renormalisation group method developed previously.