The renormalization group plays an essential role in many areas of physics, both conceptually and as a practical tool to determine the long-distance low-energy properties of many systems on the one hand and on the other hand search for viable ultraviolet completions in fundamental physics. It provides us with a natural framework to study theoretical models where degrees of freedom are correlated over long distances and that may exhibit very distinct behavior on different energy scales. The nonperturbative functional renormalization-group (FRG) approach is a modern implementation of Wilson's RG, which allows one to set up nonperturbative approximation schemes that go beyond the standard perturbative RG approaches. The FRG is based on an exact functional flow equation of a coarse-grained effective action (or Gibbs free energy in the language of statistical mechanics). We review the main approximation schemes that are commonly used to solve this flow equation and discuss applications in equilibrium and out-of-equilibrium statistical physics, quantum many-particle systems, high-energy physics and quantum gravity.
We study the optimization of nonperturbative renormalization group equations truncated both in fields and derivatives. On the example of the Ising model in three dimensions, we show that the Principle of Minimal Sensitivity can be unambiguously implemented at order $\partial^2$ of the derivative expansion. This approach allows us to select optimized cut-off functions and to improve the accuracy of the critical exponents $ν$ and $η$. The convergence of the field expansion is also analyzed. We show in particular that its optimization does not coincide with optimization of the accuracy of the cri…
We investigate the influence of the momentum cutoff function on the field-dependent nonperturbative renormalization group flows for the three-dimensional Ising model, up to the second order of the derivative expansion. We show that, even when dealing with the full functional dependence of the renormalization functions, the accuracy of the critical exponents can be simply optimized, through the principle of minimal sensitivity, which yields $ν= 0.628$ and $η= 0.044$.
On the example of the three-dimensional Ising model, we show that nonperturbative renormalization group equations allow one to obtain very accurate critical exponents. Implementing the order $\partial^4$ of the derivative expansion leads to $ν=0.632$ and to an anomalous dimension $η=0.033$ which is significantly improved compared with lower orders calculations.
The behaviour of a d-dimensional vectorial N=3 model at a m-axial Lifshitz critical point is investigated by means of a nonperturbative renormalization group approach that is free of the huge technical difficulties that plague the perturbative approaches and limit their computations to the lowest orders. In particular being systematically improvable, our approach allows us to control the convergence of successive approximations and thus to get reliable physical quantities in d=3.
An elementary introduction to the non-perturbative renormalization group is presented mainly in the context of statistical mechanics. No prior knowledge of field theory is necessary. The aim is this article is not to give an extensive overview of the subject but rather to insist on conceptual aspects and to explain in detail the main technical steps. It should be taken as an introduction to more advanced readings.
Using the nonperturbative renormalization group, we study the existence of bound states in the symmetry-broken phase of the scalar $ϕ^4$ theory in all dimensions between two and four and as a function of the temperature. The accurate description of the momentum dependence of the two-point function, required to get the spectrum of the theory, is provided by means of the Blaizot--Méndez-Galain--Wschebor approximation scheme. We confirm the existence of a bound state in dimension three, with a mass within 1% of previous Monte-Carlo and numerical diagonalization values.
Using the nonperturbative functional renormalization group (FRG) within the Blaizot-Méndez-Galain-Wschebor approximation, we compute the operator product expansion (OPE) coefficient $c_{112}$ associated with the operators $\mathcal{O}_1\simφ$ and $\mathcal{O}_2\simφ^2$ in the three-dimensional $\mathrm{O}(N)$ universality class and in the Ising universality class ($N=1$) in dimensions $2 \leq d \leq 4$. When available, exact results and estimates from the conformal bootstrap and Monte-Carlo simulations compare extremely well to our results, while FRG is able to provide values across the whole …
We derive the necessary conditions for implementing a regulator that depends on both momentum and frequency in the nonperturbative renormalization group flow equations of out-of-equilibrium statistical systems. We consider model A as a benchmark and compute its dynamical critical exponent $z$. This allows us to show that frequency regulators compatible with causality and the fluctuation-dissipation theorem can be devised. We show that when the Principle of Minimal Sensitivity (PMS) is employed to optimize the critical exponents $η$, $ν$ and $z$, the use of frequency regulators becomes necessar…
We study the quantum sine-Gordon model within a nonperturbative functional renormalization-group approach (FRG). This approach is benchmarked by comparing our findings for the soliton and lightest breather (soliton-antisoliton bound state) masses to exact results. We then examine the validity of the Lukyanov-Zamolodchikov conjecture for the expectation value $\langle e^{\frac{i}{2}nβφ}\rangle$ of the exponential fields in the massive phase ($n$ is integer and $2π/β$ denotes the periodicity of the potential in the sine-Gordon model). We find that the minimum of the relative and absolute disagre…
Field-theoretical calculations performed in an approximation scheme often present a spurious dependence of physical quantities on some unphysical parameters associated with the details of the calculation setup (such as, the renormalization scheme or, in perturbation theory, the resummation procedure). In the present article, we propose to reduce this dependence by invoking conformal invariance. Using as a benchmark the three-dimensional Ising model, we show that, within the derivative expansion at order 4, performed in the nonperturbative renormalization group formalism, the identity associate…
We studied the nematic isotropic phase transition by applying the functional renormalization group to the Landau-de Gennes model. We derived the flow equations for the effective potential as well as the cubic and quartic "couplings" and the anomalous dimension. We then solved the coupled flow equations on a grid using Newton Raphson method. A first order phase transition is observed. We also investigated the nematic isotropic puzzle (the NI puzzle) in this paper. We obtained the NI transition temperature difference ${T_c-T^*}=5.85K$ with sizable improvement over previous results.
We point out some limits of the perturbative renormalization group used in statistical mechanics both at and out of equilibrium. We argue that the non perturbative renormalization group formalism is a promising candidate to overcome some of them. We present some results recently obtained in the literature that substantiate our claims. We finally list some open issues for which this formalism could be useful and also review some of its drawbacks.
We reformulate the nonperturbative functional renormalization group for the random field Ising model in a superfield formalism, extending the supersymmetric description of the critical behavior of the system first proposed by Parisi and Sourlas [Phys. Rev. Lett. 43, 744 (1979)]. We show that the two crucial ingredients for this extension are the introduction of a weighting factor, which accounts for ground-state dominance when multiple metastable states are present, and of multiple copies of the original system, which allows one to access the full functional dependence of the cumulants of the …
Based on the original idea of the density matrix renormalization group (DMRG), i.e. to include the missing boundary conditions between adjacent blocks of the blocked quantum system, we present a rigorous and nonperturbative mathematical formulation for the real-space renormalization group (RG) idea invented by L.P. Kadanoff and further developed by K.G. Wilson. This is achieved by using additional Hilbert spaces called auxiliary spaces in the construction of each single isolated block, which is then named a superblock according to the original nomenclature. On this superblock we define two map…
We reexamine the two-dimensional linear O(2) model ($φ^4$ theory) in the framework of the nonperturbative renormalization-group. From the flow equations obtained in the derivative expansion to second order and with optimization of the infrared regulator, we find a transition between a high-temperature (disordered) phase and a low-temperature phase displaying a line of fixed points and algebraic order. We obtain a picture in agreement with the standard theory of the Kosterlitz-Thouless (KT) transition and reproduce the universal features of the transition. In particular, we find the anomalous d…
We study the $O(2)$ model with $\mathbb{Z}_4$-symmetric perturbations within the framework of nonperturbative renormalization group (RG) for spatial dimensionality $d=2$ and $d=3$. In a unified framework we resolve the relatively complex crossover behavior emergent due to the presence of multiple RG fixed points. In $d=3$ the system is controlled by the $XY$, Ising, and low-$T$ fixed points in presence of a dangerously irrelevant anisotropy coupling $λ$. In $d=2$ the anisotropy coupling is marginal and the physical picture is governed by the interplay between two distinct lines of RG fixed poi…
We compute the critical exponents $ν$, $η$ and $ω$ of $O(N)$ models for various values of $N$ by implementing the derivative expansion of the nonperturbative renormalization group up to next-to-next-to-leading order [usually denoted $\mathcal{O}(\partial^4)$]. We analyze the behavior of this approximation scheme at successive orders and observe an apparent convergence with a small parameter -- typically between $1/9$ and $1/4$ -- compatible with previous studies in the Ising case. This allows us to give well-grounded error bars. We obtain a determination of critical exponents with a precision …
We apply the nonperturbative functional renormalization group (NP-FRG) in the superfield formalism that we have developed in the preceding paper to study long-standing issues concerning the critical behavior of the random field Ising model. Through the introduction of an appropriate regulator and a supersymmetry-compatible nonperturbative approximation, we are able to follow the supersymmetry, more specifically the superrotational invariance first unveiled by Parisi and Sourlas [Phys. Rev. Lett. 43, 744 (1979)], and its spontaneous breaking along the RG flow. Breaking occurs below a critical d…
We present an approximation scheme of the nonperturbative renormalization group that preserves the momentum dependence of correlation functions. This approximation scheme can be seen as a simple improvement of the local potential approximation (LPA) where the derivative terms in the effective action are promoted to arbitrary momentum-dependent functions. As in the LPA the only field dependence comes from the effective potential, which allows us to solve the renormalization-group equations at a relatively modest numerical cost (as compared, e.g., to the Blaizot--Mendéz-Galain--Wschebor approxim…
We investigate the scaling regimes of the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang equation in the presence of spatially correlated noise with power law decay $D(p) \sim p^{-2ρ}$ in Fourier space, using a nonperturbative renormalization group approach. We determine the full phase diagram of the system as a function of $ρ$ and the dimension $d$. In addition to the weak-coupling part of the diagram, which agrees with the results from Refs. [Europhys. Lett. 47, 14 (1999), Eur. Phys. J. B 9, 491 (1999)], we find the two fixed points describing the short-range (SR) and long-range (LR) dominated strong-coupling phases. …
We investigate the regime of fully developed homogeneous and isotropic turbulence of the Navier-Stokes (NS) equation in the presence of a stochastic forcing, using the nonperturbative (functional) renormalization group (NPRG). Within a simple approximation based on symmetries, we obtain the fixed point solution of the NPRG flow equations that corresponds to fully developed turbulence both in $d=2$ and $d=3$ dimensions. Deviations to the dimensional scalings (Kolmogorov in $d=3$ or Kraichnan-Batchelor in $d=2$) are found for the two-point functions. To further analyze these deviations, we deriv…
We investigate the strong-coupling regime of the stationary Kardar-Parisi-Zhang equation for interfaces growing on a substrate of dimension d=1, 2, and 3 using a nonperturbative renormalization group (NPRG) approach. We compute critical exponents, correlation and response functions, extract the related scaling functions and calculate universal amplitude ratios. We work with a simplified implementation of the second-order (in the response field) approximation proposed in a previous work [PRE 84, 061128 (2011) and Erratum 86, 019904 (2012)], which greatly simplifies the frequency sector of the N…
A nonperturbative renormalization of the phi^4 model is considered. First we integrate out only a single pair of conjugated modes with wave vectors +/- q. Then we are looking for the RG equation which would describe the transformation of the Hamiltonian under the integration over a shell Lambda - d Lambda < k < Lambda, where d Lambda -> 0. We show that the known Wegner--Houghton equation is consistent with the assumption of a simple superposition of the integration results for +/- q. The renormalized action can be expanded in powers of the phi^4 coupling constant u in the high temperature phas…
We investigate the critical scaling of the spin-1/2 antiferromagnet on the square lattice in the easy-plane (XXZ) regime, via numerical measurements of the entanglement entropy constructed from the zeroes of a polynomial ring. We relate these results to conformal field theory predictions for the area law scaling of entanglement entropyin the vicinity of quantum critical points in gapless conformally invariant 2d quantum systems, and in gapless systems with finite Fermi surfaces. Our measurements are focused in three low-temperature regions at fixed XXZ anisotropies of $Δ=1.01$, $Δ=1.78$ and $Δ…
This article is devoted to the study of the critical properties of classical XY and Heisenberg frustrated magnets in three dimensions. We first analyze the experimental and numerical situations. We show that the unusual behaviors encountered in these systems, typically nonuniversal scaling, are hardly compatible with the hypothesis of a second order phase transition. We then review the various perturbative and early nonperturbative approaches used to investigate these systems. We argue that none of them provides a completely satisfactory description of the three-dimensional critical behavior. …
We project the Wilson/Polchinski renormalization group equation onto its uniform external field dependent effective free energy and connected Green's functions. The result is a hierarchy of equations which admits a choice of "natural" truncation and closure schemes for nonperturbative approximate solution. In this way approximation schemes can be generated which avoid power series expansions in either fields or momenta. When following one closure scheme the lowest order equation is the mean field approximation, while another closure scheme gives the "local potential approximation." Extension o…
The random-field Ising model shows extreme critical slowdown that has been described by activated dynamic scaling: the characteristic time for the relaxation to equilibrium diverges exponentially with the correlation length, $\ln τ\sim ξ^ψ/T$ , with $ψ$ an \textit{a priori} unknown barrier exponent. Through a nonperturbative functional renormalization group, we show that for spatial dimensions $d$ less than a critical value $d_{DR} \simeq 5.1$, also associated with dimensional-reduction breakdown, $ψ=θ$ with $θ$ the temperature exponent near the zero-temperature fixed point that controls the c…
We show that, contrary to previous suggestions based on computer simulations or erroneous theoretical treatments, the critical points of the random-field Ising model out of equilibrium, when quasi-statically changing the applied source at zero temperature, and in equilibrium are not in the same universality class below some critical dimension $d_{DR}\approx 5.1$. We demonstrate this by implementing a non-perturbative functional renormalization group for the associated dynamical field theory. Above $d_{DR}$, the avalanches, which characterize the evolution of the system at zero temperature, bec…
We have developed a nonperturbative functional renormalization group approach for random field models and related disordered systems for which, due to the existence of many metastable states, conventional perturbation theory often fails. The approach combines an exact renormalization group equation for the effective average action with a nonperturbative approximation scheme based on a description of the probability distribution of the renormalized disorder through its cumulants. For the random field $O(N)$ model, the minimal truncation within this scheme is shown to reproduce the known perturb…
Using a nonperturbative functional renormalization-group approach to the two-dimensional quantum O($N$) model, we compute the low-frequency limit $ω\to 0$ of the zero-temperature conductivity in the vicinity of the quantum critical point. Our results are obtained from a derivative expansion to second order of a scale-dependent effective action in the presence of an external (i.e., non-dynamical) non-Abelian gauge field. While in the disordered phase the conductivity tensor $σ(ω)$ is diagonal, in the ordered phase it is defined, when $N\geq 3$, by two independent elements, $σ_{\rm A}(ω)$ and $σ…
We employ the functional renormalization group framework at the second order in the derivative expansion to study the $O(N)$ models continuously varying the number of field components $N$ and the spatial dimensionality $d$. We in particular address the Cardy-Hamber prediction concerning nonanalytical behavior of the critical exponents $ν$ and $η$ across a line in the $(d,N)$ plane, which passes through the point $(2,2)$. By direct numerical evaluation of $η(d,N)$ and $ν^{-1}(d,N)$ as well as analysis of the functional fixed-point profiles, we find clear indications of this line in the form of …
We solve the nonperturbative renormalization-group flow equations for the two-dimensional XY model at the truncation level of the (complete) second-order derivative expansion. We compute the thermodynamic properties in the high-temperature phase and compare the non-universal features specific to the XY model with results from Monte Carlo simulations. In particular, we study the position and magnitude of the specific heat peak as a function of temperature. The obtained results compare well with Monte Carlo simulations. We additionally gauge the accuracy of simplified nonperturbative renormaliza…
The N-vector cubic model relevant, among others, to the physics of the randomly dilute Ising model is analyzed in arbitrary dimension by means of an exact renormalization-group equation. This study provides a unified picture of its critical physics between two and four dimensions. We give the critical exponents for the three-dimensional randomly dilute Ising model which are in good agreement with experimental and numerical data. The relevance of the cubic anisotropy in the O(N) model is also treated.
We give a rigorous nonperturbative construction of a massless discrete trajectory for Wilson's exact renormalization group. The model is a three dimensional Euclidean field theory with a modified free propagator. The trajectory realizes the mean field to critical crossover from the ultraviolet Gaussian fixed point to an analog recently constructed by Brydges, Mitter and Scoppola of the Wilson-Fisher nontrivial fixed point.
We show that there exists an Efimov-like three strand DNA bound state at the duplex melting point and it is described by a renormalization group limit cycle. A nonperturbative RG is used to obtain this result in a model involving short range pairing only. Our results suggest that Efimov physics can be tested in polymeric systems.
Slow dynamics in glassy systems is often interpreted as due to thermally activated events between "metastable" states. This emphasizes the role of nonperturbative fluctuations, which is especially dramatic when these fluctuations destroy a putative phase transition predicted at the mean-field level. To gain insight into such hard problems, we consider the implementation of a generic back-and-forth process, between microscopic theory and observable behavior via effective theories, in a toy model that is simple enough to allow for a thorough investigation: the one-dimensional $φ^4$ theory at low…
