We study the question of whether two frames of a given physical theory are equivalent or not in the presence of quantum corrections. By using field theory arguments we claim that equivalence is broken in the presence of anomalous symmetries in one of the frames. This is particularized to the case of the relation between the Einstein and Jordan frames in scalar-tensor theories used to describe early Universe dynamics. Although in this case a regularization that cancels the anomaly exists, the renormalized theory always develop a non-vanishing contribution to the S-matrix that is present only in the Jordan frame, promoting the different frames to different physical theories that must be UV completed in a different way.
I review my explanation of the irreversibility of the renormalization-group flow in even dimensions greater than two and address new investigations and tests.
The (perturbative) renormalization properties of the BF formulation of Yang-Mills gauge models are shown to be identical to those of the usual, second order formulation. This result holds in any number of spacetime dimensions and is a direct consequence of cohomological theorems established by G. Barnich, F. Brandt and the author (Commun.Math.Phys., 174 (1995) 57).
Weyl consistency conditions are a powerful tool to study the irreversibility properties of the renormalization group. We apply this formalism to non-relativistic theories in 2 spatial dimensions with boost invariance and dynamical exponent z=2. Different possibilities are explored, depending on the structure of the gravitational background used as a source for the energy-momentum tensor.
We introduce an iterative method to univocally determine the adiabatic expansion of the modes of Dirac fields in spatially homogeneous external backgrounds. We overcome the ambiguities found in previous studies and use this new procedure to improve the adiabatic regularization/renormalization scheme. We provide details on the application of the method for Dirac fields living in a four-dimensional Friedmann-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker spacetime with a Yukawa coupling to an external scalar field. We check the consistency of our proposal by working out the conformal anomaly. We also analyze a two-d…
We extend the Wilson renormalization group (RG) formulation to chiral gauge theories and show that local gauge symmetry can be implemented by a suitable choice of the RG flow boundary conditions. Since the space-time dimension is four, there is no ambiguity in handling the matrix $\g_5$ and left and right fermions are not coupled. As a result the ultraviolet action contains all possible globally chiral invariant interactions. Nevertheless, the correct chiral anomaly is reproduced.
A long-standing conjecture on the structure of renormalized, gauge invariant, integrated operators of arbitrary dimension in Yang-Mills theory is established. The general solution of the consistency condition for anomalies with sources included is also derived. This is achieved by computing explicitely the cohomology of the full unrestricted BRST operator in the space of local polynomial functionals with ghost number equal to zero or one. The argument does not use power counting and is purely cohomological. It relies crucially on standard properties of the antifield formalism.
We investigate the Schwinger pair production phenomena in spatially homogeneous strong electric fields. We first consider scalar QED in four-dimensions and discuss the potential ambiguity in the adiabatic order assignment for the electromagnetic potential required to fix the renormalization subtractions. We argue that this ambiguity can be solved by invoking the conformal anomaly when both electric and gravitational backgrounds are present. We also extend the adiabatic regularization method for spinor QED in two-dimensions and find consistency with the chiral anomaly. We focus on the issue of …
The global chiral symmetry of a $SU(2)$ gauge theory is studied in the framework of renormalization group (RG). The theory is defined by the RG flow equations in the infrared cutoff $Ł$ and the boundary conditions for the relevant couplings. The physical theory is obtained at $Ł=0$. In our approach the symmetry is implemented by choosing the boundary conditions for the relevant couplings not at the ultraviolet point $Ł=Ł_0\to\infty$ but at the physical value $Ł=0$. As an illustration, we compute the triangle axial anomalies.
We prove that adiabatic regularization and DeWitt-Schwinger point-splitting provide the same result for the renormalized expectation values of the stress-energy tensor for spin-$1/2$ fields. This generalizes the equivalence found for scalar fields, which is here recovered in a different way. We also argue that the coincidence limit of the DeWitt-Schwinger proper time expansion of the two-point function exactly agrees with the analogous expansion defined by the adiabatic regularization method at any order (for both scalar and spin-$1/2$ fields). We also illustrate the power of the adiabatic met…
We extend the Wilson renormalization group (RG) to supersymmetric theories. As this regularization scheme preserves supersymmetry, we exploit the superspace technique. To set up the formalism we first derive the RG flow for the massless Wess-Zumino model and deduce its perturbative expansion. We then consider N=1 supersymmetric Yang-Mills and show that the local gauge symmetry -broken by the regularization- can be recovered by a suitable choice of the RG flow boundary conditions. We restrict our analysis to the first loop, the generalization to higher loops presenting no difficulty due to the …
In this work we study the issue of gauge anomalies in Lorentz-violating QED. To do so, we opt to use the Becchi-Rouet-Stora-Tyutin formalism within the algebraic renormalization approach, reducing our study to a cohomology problem. Since this approach is independent of the renormalization scheme, the results obtained here are expected to be general. We find that the Lorentz-violating QED is free of gauge anomalies to all orders in perturbation theory.
We consider the gauge invariance of the standard Yang-Mills model in the framework of the causal approach of Epstein-Glaser and Scharf and determine the generic form of the anomalies. The method used is based Epstein-Glaser approach to renormalization theory. In the case of quantum electrodynamics we obtain quite easily the absence of anomalies in all orders.
We study 't Hooft anomalies of discrete groups in the framework of (1+1)-dimensional multiscale entanglement renormalization ansatz states on the lattice. Using matrix product operators, general topological restrictions on conformal data are derived. An ansatz class allowing for optimization of MERA with an anomalous symmetry is introduced. We utilize this class to numerically study a family of Hamiltonians with a symmetric critical line. Conformal data is obtained for all irreducible projective representations of each anomalous symmetry twist, corresponding to definite topological sectors. It…
In the group field theory approach to quantum gravity, continuous spacetime geometry is expected to emerge via phase transition. However, understanding the phase diagram and finding fixed points under the renormalization group flow remains a major challenge. In this work we tackle the issue for a tensorial group field theory using the functional renormalization group method. We derive the flow equation for the effective potential at any order restricting to a subclass of tensorial interactions called cyclic melonic and projecting to a constant field in group space. For a tensor field of rank $…
In this paper we study systematically the Euclidean renormalization in configuration spaces. We investigate also the deviation from commutativity of the renormalization and the action of all linear partial differential operators. This deviation is the source of the anomalies in quantum field theory, including the renormalization group action. It also determines a Hochschild 1-cocycle and the renormalization ambiguity corresponds to a nonlinear subset in the cohomology class of this renormalization cocycle. We show that the related cohomology spaces can be reduced to de Rham cohomologies of the…
We establish a linear relation between the $a$-type Weyl anomaly and the 't Hooft anomaly coefficients for the $R$-symmetry and gravitational anomalies in six-dimensional $(1,0)$ superconformal field theories. For RG flows onto the tensor branch, where conformal symmetry is spontaneously broken, supersymmetry relates the anomaly mismatch $Δa$ to the square of a four-derivative interaction for the dilaton. This establishes the $a$-theorem for all such flows. The four-derivative dilaton interaction is in turn related to the Green-Schwarz-like terms that are needed to match the 't Hooft anomalies…
It was shown recently that boundary terms of conformal anomalies recover the universal contribution to the entanglement entropy and also play an important role in the boundary monotonicity theorem of odd-dimensional quantum field theories. Motivated by these results, we investigate relationships between boundary anomalies and the stress tensor correlation functions in conformal field theories. In particular, we focus on how the conformal Ward identity and the renormalization group equation are modified by boundary central charges. Renormalized stress tensors induced by boundary Weyl invariants…
Energy-dependent Green's functions for the two and three dimensional $δ$-function plus harmonic oscillator potential systems are derived by incorporating the renormalization and the self-adjoint extension into the Green's function formalism, respectively. It is shown that both methods yield an identical Green's function if a certain relation between the self-adjoint extension parameter and the renormalized coupling constant is imposed.
We provide a non-renormalization theorem for the coefficients of the conformal anomaly associated with operators with vanishing anomalous dimensions. Such operators include conserved currents and chiral operators in superconformal field theories. We illustrate the theorem by computing the conformal anomaly of 2-point functions both by a computation in the conformal field theory and via the adS/CFT correspondence. Our results imply that 2- and 3-point functions of chiral primary operators in N=4 SU(N) SYM will not renormalize provided that a ``generalized Adler-Bardeen theorem'' holds. We furth…
We generalize the local renormalization group (RG) equation to theories with chiral anomalies. We find that a new anomaly is required by the Wess-Zumino consistency conditions. Taking into account the new anomaly, the trace of the energy momentum tensor is expressed in terms of the covariant flavor currents, instead of the consistent ones. This result is used to show that a flavor rotation induced by the RG flow can be eliminated by a choice of scheme even in the presence of chiral anomalies. As part of a general discussion of chiral anomalies in the presence of background sources, we also der…
In a Hamiltonian approach to anomalies parity and time reversal symmetries can be restored by introducing suitable impure (or mixed) states. However, the expectation values of observables such as the Hamiltonian diverges in such impure states. Here we show that such divergent expectation values can be treated within a renormalization group framework, leading to a set of $β$-functions in the moduli space of the operators representing the observables. This leads to well defined expectation values of the Hamiltonian in a phase where the impure state restores the $P$ and $T$ symmetry. We also show…
We employ projection operator techniques in Hilbert space to derive a continuous sequence of effective Hamiltonians which describe the dynamics on successively larger length scales. We show for the case of ϕ^4 theory that the masses and couplings in these effective Hamiltonians vary in accordance with 1-loop renormalization group equations. This is evidence for an intimate connection between Wilson's renormalization and the venerable Bloch-Feshbach formalism.
Constrained Differential Renormalization (CDR) and the constrained version of Implicit Regularization (IR) are two regularization independent techniques that do not rely on dimensional continuation of the space-time. These two methods which have rather distinct basis have been successfully applied to several calculations which show that they can be trusted as practical, symmetry invariant frameworks (gauge and supersymmetry included) in perturbative computations even beyond one-loop order. In this paper, we show the equivalence between these two methods at one-loop order. We show that the conf…
We calculate the one-loop quantum corrections to the mass and central charge of N=2 and N=4 supersymmetric monopoles in 3+1 dimensions. The corrections to the N=2 central charge are finite and due to an anomaly in the conformal central charge current, but they cancel for the N=4 monopole. For the quantum corrections to the mass we start with the integral over the expectation value of the Hamiltonian density, which we show to consist of a bulk contribution which is given by the familiar sum over zero-point energies, as well as surface terms which contribute nontrivially in the monopole sector. …
We discuss some general aspects of renormalization group flows in four dimensions. Every such flow can be reinterpreted in terms of a spontaneously broken conformal symmetry. We analyze in detail the consequences of trace anomalies for the effective action of the Nambu-Goldstone boson of broken conformal symmetry. While the c-anomaly is algebraically trivial, the a-anomaly is "non-Abelian," and leads to a positive-definite universal contribution to the S-matrix of 2->2 dilaton scattering. Unitarity of the S-matrix results in a monotonically decreasing function that interpolates between the Eul…
We provide a bottom-up argument to derive some known results from holographic renormalization using the classical bulk-bulk equivalence of General Relativity and Shape Dynamics, a theory with spatial conformal (Weyl) invariance. The purpose of this paper is twofold: 1) to advertise the simple classical mechanism: trading of gauge symmetries, that underlies the bulk-bulk equivalence of General Relativity and Shape Dynamics to readers interested in dualities of the type of AdS/CFT; and 2) to highlight that this mechanism can be used to explain certain results of holographic renormalization, prov…
It is usually believed that there are no perturbative anomalies in supersymmetric gauge theories beyond the well-known chiral anomaly. In this paper we revisit this issue, because previously given arguments are incomplete. Specifically, we rule out the existence of soft anomalies, i.e., quantum violations of supersymmetric Ward identities proportional to a mass parameter in a classically supersymmetric theory. We do this by combining a previously proven theorem on the absence of hard anomalies with a spurion analysis, using the methods of Algebraic Renormalization. We work in the on-shell comp…
We introduce the concept of general gauge theory which includes Yang-Mills models. In the framework of the causal approach and show that the anomalies can appear only in the vacuum sector of the identities obtained from the gauge invariance condition by applying derivatives with respect to the basic fields. Then we provide a general result about the absence of anomalies in higher orders of perturbation theory. This result reduces the renormalizability proof to the study of lower orders of perturbation theory. For the Yang-Mills model one can perform this computation explicitly and obtains its …
The one-loop effective action corresponding the general model of dilaton gravity given by the Lagrangian $L=-\sqrt{g} \left[ \frac{1}{2}Z(Φ) g^{μν} \partial_μΦ\partial_νΦ+ C(Φ) R + V (Φ)\right]$, where $Z(Φ)$, $ C(Φ)$ and $V (Φ)$ are arbitrary functions of the dilaton field, is found. The question of the quantum equivalence of classically equivalent dilaton gravities is studied. By specific calculation of explicit examples it is shown that classically equivalent quantum gravities are also perturbatively equivalent at the quantum level, but only on-shell. The renormalization group equations for…
We systematically analyze the effective action on the moduli space of (2,0) superconformal field theories in six dimensions, as well as their toroidal compactification to maximally supersymmetric Yang-Mills theories in five and four dimensions. We present a streamlined approach to non-renormalization theorems that constrain this effective action. The first several orders in its derivative expansion are determined by a one-loop calculation in five-dimensional Yang-Mills theory. This fixes the leading higher-derivative operators that describe the renormalization group flow into theories residing…
In this article we review how categorical equivalences are realized by renormalization group flow in physical realizations of stacks, derived categories, and derived schemes. We begin by reviewing the physical realization of sigma models on stacks, as (universality classes of) gauged sigma models, and look in particular at properties of sigma models on gerbes (equivalently, sigma models with restrictions on nonperturbative sectors), and decomposition, in which two-dimensional sigma models on gerbes decompose into disjoint unions of ordinary theories. We also discuss stack structures on example…
We consider the detailed renormalization of two (1+1)-dimensional gauge theories which are quantized without preserving gauge invariance: the chiral and the "anomalous" Schwinger models. By regularizing the non-perturbative divergences that appear in fermionic Green's functions of both models, we show that the "tree level" photon propagator is ill-defined, thus forcing one to use the complete photon propagator in the loop expansion of these functions. We perform the renormalization of these divergences in both models to one loop level, defining it in a consistent and semi-perturbative sense th…
An extension of the non-local regularization scheme is formulated in the Sp(2) symmetric Lagrangian BRST quantization framework. It generates a systematic treatment of the anomalous quantum master equations and allows to substract the divergences as well as to calculate genuine higher loop BRST and anti-BRST anomalies.
We study the appearance of anomalies of the Master Ward Identity, which is a universal renormalization condition in perturbative QFT. The main insight of the present paper is that any violation of the Master Ward Identity can be expressed as a LOCAL interacting field; this is a version of the well-known Quantum Action Principle of Lowenstein and Lam. Proceeding in a proper field formalism by induction on the order in $\hbar$, this knowledge about the structure of possible anomalies as well as techniques of algebraic renormalization are used to remove possible anomalies by finite renormalizatio…
The equivalence of inertial and gravitational masses is a defining feature of general relativity. Here, we clarify the status of the equivalence principle for interactions mediated by a universally coupled scalar, motivated partly by recent attempts to modify gravity at cosmological distances. Although a universal scalar-matter coupling is not mandatory, once postulated, it is stable against classical and quantum renormalizations in the matter sector. The coupling strength itself is subject to renormalization of course. The scalar equivalence principle is violated only for objects for which ei…
We obtain a simple expression for the triangle `t Hooft anomalies in quiver gauge theories that are dual to toric Sasaki-Einstein manifolds. We utilize the result and simplify considerably the proof concerning the equivalence of a-maximization and Z-minimization. We also resolve the ambiguity in defining the flavor charges in quiver gauge theories. We then compare coefficients of the triangle anomalies with coefficients of the current-current correlators and find perfect agreement.
We provide a rigorous construction of the Schwinger functions for the massive and massless Thirring models. We use the renormalization group approach, controlling its flow through the Ward-Takahashi identities combined with the Schwinger-Dyson equation. The role of the anomalies is discussed.
The antifield formalism adapted in the exact renormalization group is found to be useful for describing a system with some symmetry, especially the gauge symmetry. In the formalism, the vanishing of the quantum master operator implies the presence of a symmetry. The QM operator satisfies a simple algebraic relation that will be shown to be related to the Wess-Zumino condition for anomalies. We also explain how an anomaly contributes to the QM operator.
The Principle of Maximum Conformality (PMC) eliminates QCD renormalization scale-setting uncertainties using fundamental renormalization group methods. The resulting scale-fixed pQCD predictions are independent of the choice of renormalization scheme and show rapid convergence. The coefficients of the scale-fixed couplings are identical to the corresponding conformal series with zero $β$-function. Two all-orders methods for systematically implementing the PMC-scale setting procedure for existing high order calculations are discussed in this article. One implementation is based on the PMC-BLM c…
This article describes some geometric invariants and conformal anomalies for conformally compact Einstein manifolds and their minimal submanifolds which have recently been discovered via the Anti-de Sitter/Conformal Field Theory correspondence.
We formulate the renormalization procedure using the domain wall regularization that is based on the heat-kernel method. The quantum effects of both fermions and bosons (gauge fields) are taken into account. The background field method is quite naturally introduced. With regard to the treatment of the loop-momentum integrals, an interesting contrast between the fermion-determinant part and other parts is revealed. These points are elucidated by considering some examples. The Weyl anomalies for 2D QED and 4D QED are correctly obtained. It is found that the ``chiral solution'' produces (1/2)$^{d…
We introduce the concept of equivalence among Wilson actions. Applying the concept to a real scalar theory on a euclidean space, we derive the exact renormalization group transformation of K. G. Wilson, and give a simple proof of universality of the critical exponents at any fixed point of the exact renormalization group transformation. We also show how to reduce the original formalism of Wilson to the simplified formalism by J. Polchinski.
The equivalence between the holographic renormalization group and the soft dilaton theorem is shown for a class of wrapped metrics solutions of the string beta function equations for the bosonic string.
Some questions were recently raised about the equivalence of two methods commonly used to compute the Casimir energy: the mode summation approach and the one-loop effective potential. In this respect, we argue that the scale dependence induced by renormalization effects, displayed by the effective potential approach, also appears in the MS method.
In a previous paper "Anomalies in Quantum Field Theory and Cohomologies of Configuration Spaces" (arXiv:0903.0187) we presented a new method for renormalization in Euclidean configuration spaces based on certain renormalization maps. This approach is aimed to serve for developing an algebraic algorithm for computing the Gell--Mann--Low renormalization group action. In the present work we introduce a modification of the theory of renormalization maps for the case of Minkowski space and we give the way how it is combined with the causal perturbation theory.
Equivalence criteria are established for an effective Yukawa-type theory of composite fields representing two-particle fermion bound states with the original "microscopic" theory of interacting fermions based on the spectral decomposition of the 2-to-2 fermion scattering amplitude. Functional renormalisation group equations of the effective theory are derived exploiting relations expressing the equivalence. The effect of truncating the spectral decomposition is investigated quantitatively on the example of the non-relativistic bound states of two oppositely charged fermi particles.
We show that the BF theory in any space-time dimension, when quantized in a certain linear covariant gauge, possesses a vector supersymmetry. The generator of the latter together with those of the BRS transformations and of the translations form the basis of a superalgebra of the Wess-Zumino type. We give a general classification of all possible anomalies and invariant counterterms. Their absence, which amounts to ultraviolet finiteness, follows from purely algebraic arguments in the lower-dimensional cases.
In this work we elaborate on an extension of the AdS/CFT framework to a subclass of gravitational theories with vanishing cosmological constant. By building on earlier ideas, we construct a correspondence between Ricci-flat spacetimes admitting asymptotically hyperbolic hypersurfaces and a family of conformal field theories on a codimension two manifold at null infinity. By truncating the gravity theory to the pure gravitational sector, we find the most general spacetime asymptotics, renormalize the gravitational action, reproduce the holographic stress tensors and Ward identities of the famil…
We analyze the Chern-Simons-like term generation in the CPT-odd Lorentz-violating Yang-Mills theory interacting with fermions. Moreover, we study the anomalies of this model as well as its quantum stability. The whole analysis is performed within the algebraic renormalization theory, which is independent of the renormalization scheme. In addition, all results are valid to all orders in perturbation theory. We find that the Chern-Simons-like term is not generated by radiative corrections, just like its Abelian version. Additionally, the model is also free of gauge anomalies and quantum stable.
We compute the three loop $β$ function of the Wess-Zumino model to motivate implicit regularization (IR) as a consistent and practical momentum-space framework to study supersymmetric quantum field theories. In this framework which works essentially in the physical dimension of the theory we show that ultraviolet are clearly disantangled from infrared divergences. We obtain consistent results which motivate the method as a good choice to study supersymmetry anomalies in quantum field theories.
We study quantum integrability of affine Toda theories with a line of defect. In particular, we focus on the problem of constructing quantum higher-spin conserved currents in models defined by two A_r^{(1)} Toda theories separated by a non-trivial type-I defect. For a suitable choice of the defect potential these theories are known to be classically integrable, that is they possess an infinite set of higher-spin conserved charges in involution. Studying the corresponding conservation laws at quantum level we discover that anomalies arise, which we compute exactly at all orders in the coupling …
Motivated by a desire to understand quantum fluctuation energy densities and stress within a spatially varying dielectric medium, we examine the vacuum expectation value for the stress tensor of a scalar field with arbitrary conformal parameter, in the background of a given potential that depends on only one spatial coordinate. We regulate the expressions by incorporating a temporal-spatial cutoff in the (imaginary) time and transverse-spatial directions. The divergences are captured by the zeroth- and second-order WKB approximations. Then the stress tensor is "renormalized" by omitting the te…
The trace anomaly in external gravity is the sum of three terms at criticality: the square of the Weyl tensor, the Euler density and Box R, with coefficients, properly normalized, called c, a and a', the latter being ambiguously defined by an additive constant. Considerations about unitarity and positivity properties of the induced actions allow us to show that the total RG flows of a and a' are equal and therefore the a'-ambiguity can be consistently removed through the identification a'=a. The picture that emerges clarifies several long-standing issues. The interplay between unitarity and re…
We present a minimal version for the renormalization of softly broken Super-Yang-Mills theories using the extended model with a local gauge coupling. It is shown that the non-renormalization theorems of the case with unbroken supersymmetry are valid without modifications and that the renormalization of soft-breaking parameters is completely governed by the renormalization of the supersymmetric parameters. The symmetry identities in the present context are peculiar, since the extended model contains two anomalies: the Adler-Bardeen anomaly of the axial current and an anomaly of supersymmetry in…
By self-consistent renormalization (SCR) it is meant that all formal relations between UV-divergent Feynman amplitudes are automatically retained as well as between their regular values obtained in the framework of the SCR. The SCR is efficiently applicable on equal grounds both to renormalizable and nonrenormalizable theories. SCR furnishes new means for the constructive treatment of new subjects: i) UV-divergence problems associated with symmetries, Ward identities, and quantum anomalies; ii) new relations between finite bare and finite physical parameters of quantum field theories. The aim …
Quantum field theories (QFT) in the presence of defects exhibit new types of anomalies which play an important role in constraining the defect dynamics and defect renormalization group (RG) flows. Here we study surface defects and their anomalies in conformal field theories (CFT) of general spacetime dimensions. When the defect is conformal, it is characterized by a conformal $b$-anomaly analogous to the $c$-anomaly of 2d CFTs. The $b$-theorem states that $b$ must monotonically decrease under defect RG flows and was proven by coupling to a spurious defect dilaton. We revisit the proof by deriv…
We discuss the quantum equivalence, to all orders of perturbation theory, between the Yang-Mills theory and its first order formulation through a second rank antisymmetric tensor field. Moreover, the introduction of an additional nonphysical vector field allows us to interpret the Yang-Mills theory as a kind of perturbation of the topological BF model.
Weyl consistency conditions have been used in unitary relativistic quantum field theory to impose constraints on the renormalization group flow of certain quantities. We classify the Weyl anomalies and their renormalization scheme ambiguities for generic non-relativistic theories in 2+1 dimensions with anisotropic scaling exponent z=2; the extension to other values of z are discussed as well. We give the consistency conditions among these anomalies. As an application we find several candidates for a C-theorem. We comment on possible candidates for a $C$-theorem in higher dimensions.
