The Epstein-Glaser approach to pQFT: graphs and Hopf algebras

The paper aims at investigating perturbative quantum field theory (pQFT) in the approach of Epstein and Glaser (EG) and, in particular, its formulation in the language of graphs and Hopf algebras (HAs). Various HAs are encountered, each one associated with a special combination of physical concepts such as normalization, localization, pseudo-unitarity, causality and an associated regularization, and renormalization. The algebraic structures, representing the perturbative expansion of the S-matrix, are imposed on the operator-valued distributions which are equipped with appropriate graph indices. Translation invariance ensures the algebras to be analytically well-defined and graded total symmetry allows to formulate bialgebras. The algebraic results are given embedded in the physical framework, which covers the two recent EG versions by Fredenhagen and Scharf that differ with respect to the concrete recursive implementation of causality. Besides, the ultraviolet divergences occuring in Feynman's representation are mathematically reasoned. As a final result, the change of the renormalization scheme in the EG framework is modeled via a HA which can be seen as the EG-analog of Kreimer's HA.Comment: 52 pages, 5 figure

Ringel-Hall algebras of cyclic quivers

These are notes from my mini-course at ICRA13, Sao Paulo, 200

Coherence Constraints for Operads, Categories and Algebras

Coherence phenomena appear in two different situations. In the context of category theory the term `coherence constraints' refers to a set of diagrams whose commutativity implies the commutativity of a larger class of diagrams. In the context of algebra coherence constrains are a minimal set of generators for the second syzygy, that is, a set of equations which generate the full set of identities among the defining relations of an algebraic theory. A typical example of the first type is Mac Lane's coherence theorem for monoidal categories, an example of the second type is the result of Drinfel'd saying that the pentagon identity for the `associator' of a quasi-Hopf algebra implies the validity of a set of identities with higher instances of this associator. We show that both types of coherence are governed by a homological invariant of the operad for the underlying algebraic structure. We call this invariant the (space of) coherence constraints. In many cases these constraints can be explicitly described, thus giving rise to various coherence results, both classical and new.Comment: 29 pages, LaTeX209, article 12pt + leqno style. A substantially revised versio