8,701 research outputs found

    Effective average action in statistical physics and quantum field theory

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    An exact renormalization group equation describes the dependence of the free energy on an infrared cutoff for the quantum or thermal fluctuations. It interpolates between the microphysical laws and the complex macroscopic phenomena. We present a simple unified description of critical phenomena for O(N)-symmetric scalar models in two, three or four dimensions, including essential scaling for the Kosterlitz-Thouless transition.Comment: 34 pages,5 figures,LaTe

    Non-Gaussian fixed points in fermionic field theories without auxiliary Bose-fields

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    The functional equation governing the renormalization flow of fermionic field theories is investigated in dd dimensions without introducing auxiliary Bose-fields on the example of the Gross-Neveu and the Nambu--Jona-Lasinio model. The UV safe fixed points and the eigenvectors of the renormalization group equations linearized around them are found in the local potential approximation. The results are compared carefully with those obtained with partial bosonisation. The results do not receive any correction in the next-to-leading order approximation of the gradient expansion of the effective action.Comment: extended version to appear in EPJC, 15 pages, 4 figures, uses svjour

    WZNW Models from Non-Standard Bilinear Forms

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    We study the WZNW models based on nonstandard bilinear forms. We approach the problem from algebraic, perturbative and functional exact methods. It is shown that even in the case of integer kk we can find irrational CFT's. We prove that when the base group is noncompact with nonabelian maximal compact subgroup, the Kac-Moody representations are nonunitary.Comment: LaTeX file, 26 page

    Non-Perturbative Renormalization Flow in Quantum Field Theory and Statistical Physics

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    We review the use of an exact renormalization group equation in quantum field theory and statistical physics. It describes the dependence of the free energy on an infrared cutoff for the quantum or thermal fluctuations. Non-perturbative solutions follow from approximations to the general form of the coarse-grained free energy or effective average action. They interpolate between the microphysical laws and the complex macroscopic phenomena. Our approach yields a simple unified description for O(N)-symmetric scalar models in two, three or four dimensions, covering in particular the critical phenomena for the second-order phase transitions, including the Kosterlitz-Thouless transition and the critical behavior of polymer chains. We compute the aspects of the critical equation of state which are universal for a large variety of physical systems and establish a direct connection between microphysical and critical quantities for a liquid-gas transition. Universal features of first-order phase transitions are studied in the context of scalar matrix models. We show that the quantitative treatment of coarse graining is essential for a detailed estimate of the nucleation rate. We discuss quantum statistics in thermal equilibrium or thermal quantum field theory with fermions and bosons and we describe the high temperature symmetry restoration in quantum field theories with spontaneous symmetry breaking. In particular, we explore chiral symmetry breaking and the high temperature or high density chiral phase transition in quantum chromodynamics using models with effective four-fermion interactions.Comment: 178 pages, appears in Physics Report

    The Energy-Momentum Tensor(s) in Classical Gauge Theories

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    We give an introduction to, and review of, the energy-momentum tensors in classical gauge field theories in Minkowski space, and to some extent also in curved space-time. For the canonical energy-momentum tensor of non-Abelian gauge fields and of matter fields coupled to such fields, we present a new and simple improvement procedure based on gauge invariance for constructing a gauge invariant, symmetric energy-momentum tensor. The relationship with the Einstein-Hilbert tensor following from the coupling to a gravitational field is also discussed.Comment: 34 pages; v2: Slightly expanded version with some improvements of presentation; Contribution to Mathematical Foundations of Quantum Field Theory, special issue in memory of Raymond Stora, Nucl. Phys.

    Theories of Low-Energy Quasi-Particle States in Disordered d-Wave Superconductors

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    The physics of low-energy quasi-particle excitations in disordered d-wave superconductors is a subject of ongoing intensive research. Over the last decade, a variety of conceptually and methodologically different approaches to the problem have been developed. Unfortunately, many of these theories contradict each other, and the current literature displays a lack of consensus on even the most basic physical observables. Adopting a symmetry-oriented approach, the present paper attempts to identify the origin of the disagreement between various previous approaches, and to develop a coherent theoretical description of the different low-energy regimes realized in weakly disordered d-wave superconductors. We show that, depending on the presence or absence of time-reversal invariance and the microscopic nature of the impurities, the system falls into one of four different symmetry classes. By employing a field-theoretical formalism, we derive effective descriptions of these universal regimes as descendants of a common parent field theory of Wess-Zumino-Novikov-Witten type. As well as describing the properties of each universal regime, we analyse a number of physically relevant crossover scenarios, and discuss reasons for the disagreement between previous results. We also touch upon other aspects of the phenomenology of the d-wave superconductor such as quasi-particle localization properties, the spin quantum Hall effect, and the quasi-particle physics of the disordered vortex lattice.Comment: 42 Pages, 8 postscript figures, published version with updated reference

    Group field theories

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    Group field theories are particular quantum field theories defined on D copies of a group which reproduce spin foam amplitudes on a space-time of dimension D. In these lecture notes, we present the general construction of group field theories, merging ideas from tensor models and loop quantum gravity. This lecture is organized as follows. In the first section, we present basic aspects of quantum field theory and matrix models. The second section is devoted to general aspects of tensor models and group field theory and in the last section we examine properties of the group field formulation of BF theory and the EPRL model. We conclude with a few possible research topics, like the construction of a continuum limit based on the double scaling limit or the relation to loop quantum gravity through Schwinger-Dyson equationsComment: Lectures given at the "3rd Quantum Gravity and Quantum Geometry School", march 2011, Zakopan
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