We discuss motivation and goals of renormalization analyses of group field theory models of simplicial 4d quantum gravity, and review briefly the status of this research area. We present some new computations of perturbative GFT (spin foam) amplitudes, concerning in particular the scaling behaviour of radiative corrections to N-point functions. Finally, we single out key open issues and suggest a number of research directions for further progress in this area.
Using the background-field method we demonstrate the Becchi-Rouet-Stora-Tyutin (BRST) structure of counterterms in a broad class of gauge theories. Put simply, we show that gauge invariance is preserved by renormalization in local gauge field theories whenever they admit a sensible background-field formulation and anomaly-free path integral measure. This class encompasses Yang-Mills theories (with possibly Abelian subgroups) and relativistic gravity, including both renormalizable and non-renormalizable (effective) theories. Our results also hold for non-relativistic models such as Yang-Mills t…
Tensor models are more-index generalizations of the so-called matrix models, and provide models of quantum gravity with the idea that spaces and general relativity are emergent phenomena. In this paper, a renormalization procedure for the tensor models whose dynamical variable is a totally symmetric real three-tensor is discussed. It is proven that configurations with certain Gaussian forms are the attractors of the three-tensor under the renormalization procedure. Since these Gaussian configurations are parameterized by a scalar and a symmetric two-tensor, it is argued that, in general situat…
We extend the relation between stochstic quantization and Holographic Wilsonian Renormalization Group to the massive fermion case in Euclidean AdS space. The original suggestion about the explicit relation between the two theories is in arXiv:1209.2242. To give a fermion bulk action the Dirichlet boundary condition and the Neumann boundary condition, there are some additional terms to the bulk action. We have confirmed that the relation also hold for massive fermion case.
We discuss non-renormalization theorems applying to galileon field theories and their generalizations. Galileon theories are similar in many respects to other derivatively coupled effective field theories, including general relativity and $P(X)$ theories. In particular, these other theories also enjoy versions of non-renormalization theorems that protect certain operators against corrections from self-loops. However, we argue that the galileons are distinguished by the fact that they are not renormalized even by loops of other heavy fields whose couplings respect the galileon symmetry.
We develop the idea that renormalization, decoupling of heavy particle effects from low energy physics and the construction of effective field theories are intimately linked to the momentum space entanglement of disparate modes of an interacting quantum field theory. Using unitary transformations to decouple these modes at the perturbative level, we show in a scalar field theoretical model with light and heavy fields, how renormalization may be consistently implemented and how the low energy effective field theory can be constructed. We also obtain a renormalization group equation in this fram…
We renormalize various scalar field theories with a $ϕ^n$ self interaction such as $n$ $=$ $5$, $7$ and $9$ in their respective critical dimensions which are non-integer. The renormalization group functions for the $O(N)$ symmetric extensions are also computed.
In the paper, within the background-field method, the structure of renormalizations is studied as for Yang-Mills fields interacting with a multiplet of spinor fields. By extending the Faddeev-Popov action with extra fields and parameters, one is allowed to establish the multiplicative character of the renormalizability. The renormalization of the physical parameters is shown to be gauge-independent.
We discuss Weyl anomaly and consistency conditions of local renormalization group in d=1+2 dimensional quantum field theories. We give a classification of the consistency conditions and ambiguities in most generality within the power-counting renormalization scheme. They provide many non-trivial constraints on possible forms of beta functions, anomalous dimensions and Weyl anomaly of general d=1+2 dimensional quantum field theories. We perform modest checks of our results in conformal perturbation theories, supersymmetric field theories and holographic computations.
This paper shows that the positive-energy and non-renormalization theorems of traditional supersymmetry survive the addition of Lorentz violating interactions. The Lorentz-violating coupling constants in theories using the construction of Berger and Kostelecky must obey certain constraints in order to preserve the positive energy theorem. Seiberg's holomorphic arguments are used to prove that the superpotential remains non-renormalized (perturbatively) in the presence of Lorentz-violating interactions of the Berger-Kostelecky type. We briefly comment on Lorentz-violating theories of the type c…
We consider the renormalization of general gauge theories on curved space-time background, with the main assumption being the existence of a gauge-invariant and diffeomorphism invariant regularization. Using the Batalin-Vilkovisky (BV) formalism one can show that the theory possesses gauge invariant and diffeomorphism invariant renormalizability at quantum level, up to an arbitrary order of the loop expansion. Starting from this point we discuss the locality of the counterterms and the general prescription for constructing the power-counting renormalizable theories on curved background.
We investigate possible renormalization-group fixed points at nonzero coupling in $ϕ^3$ theories in six spacetime dimensions, using beta functions calculated to the four-loop level. We analyze three theories of this type, with (a) a one-component scalar, (b) a scalar transforming as the fundamental representation of a global ${\rm SU}(N)$ symmetry group, and (c) a scalar transforming as a bi-adjoint representation of a global ${\rm SU}(N) \otimes {\rm SU}(N)$ symmetry. We do not find robust evidence for such fixed points in theories (a) or (b). Theory (c) has the special feature that the one-l…
We construct higher derivative supervertices in an effective theory of maximal supergravity in various dimensions, in the super spinor helicity formalism, and derive non-renormalization conditions on up to 14-derivative order couplings from supersymmetry. These non-renormalization conditions include Laplace type equations on the coefficients of $R^4$, $D^4R^4$, and $D^6R^4$ couplings. We also find additional constraining equations, which are consistent with previously known results in the effective action of toroidally compactified type II string theory, and elucidate many features thereof.
This paper addresses three topics concerning the quantization of non-commutative field theories (as defined in terms of the Moyal star product involving a constant tensor describing the non-commutativity of coordinates in Euclidean space). To start with, we discuss the Quantum Action Principle and provide evidence for its validity for non-commutative quantum field theories by showing that the equation of motion considered as insertion in the generating functional Zc[j] of connected Green functions makes sense. Second, we consider the generalization of the BPHZ renormalization scheme to non-com…
This review provides a detailed introduction to chiral gauge theories, renormalization theory, and the application of dimensional regularization with the non-anticommuting BMHV scheme for $γ_5$. One goal is to show how chiral gauge theories can be renormalized despite the spurious breaking of gauge invariance and how to obtain the required symmetry-restoring counterterms. A second goal is to familiarize the reader with the theoretical basis of the renormalization of chiral gauge theories, the theorems that guarantee the existence of renormalized chiral gauge theories at all orders as consisten…
Various combinatorially non-local field theories are known to be renormalizable. Still, explicit calculations of amplitudes are very rare and restricted to matrix field theory. In this contribution I want to demonstrate how the BPHZ momentum scheme in terms of the Connes-Kreimer Hopf algebra applies to any combinatorially non-local field theory which is renormalizable. This algebraic method improves the understanding of known results in noncommutative field theory in its matrix formulation. Furthermore, I use it to provide new explicit perturbative calculations of amplitudes in tensorial field…
The flow equations of the Functional Renormalization Group are applied to the O(N)-symmetric scalar theory, for N=1 and N=4, in four Euclidean dimensions, d=4, to determine the effective potential and the renormalization function of the field in the broken phase. In our numerical analysis, the infrared limit, corresponding to the vanishing of the running momentum scale in the equations, is approached to obtain the physical values of the parameters by extrapolation. In the N=4 theory a non-perturbatively large value of the physical renormalization of the longitudinal component of the field is o…
An efficient way to calculate one-loop counterterms within the Feynman diagrammatic approach and dimensional regularization is to expand the propagators in the integrands of the Feynman integrals around vanishing external momentum. In this way, a generic one-loop diagram is reduced to a sum of vacuum diagrams. The logarithmically divergent part can be extracted by power counting arguments. In case of higher derivative theories, the standard implementation of this procedure on a computer algebra system can become quickly inefficient due to a high proliferation of terms coming from the intermedi…
We study a conjectured connection between the AdS/CFT and a real-space quantum renormalization group scheme, the multi-scale entanglement renormalization ansatz (MERA). By making a close contact with the holographic formula of the entanglement entropy, we propose a general definition of the metric in the MERA in the extra holographic direction, which is formulated purely in terms of quantum field theoretical data. Using the continuum version of the MERA (cMERA), we calculate this emergent holographic metric explicitly for free scalar boson and free fermions theories, and check that the metric …
Inspired by the tachyon-free non-supersymmetric heterotic SO(16)xSO(16) string we consider a special class of non-supersymmetric field theories: Those that can be obtained from supersymmetric field theories by supersymmetry breaking twists. We argue that such theories, like their supersymmetric counter parts, may still possess some fermionic symmetries as left-overs of the super gauge transformations and have special one-loop non-renormalization properties due to holomorphicity. In addition, we extend the supergraph techniques to these theories to calculate some explicit supersymmetry-breaking…