44,924 research outputs found
On the Fixed-Point Structure of Scalar Fields
In a recent Letter (K.Halpern and K.Huang, Phys. Rev. Lett. 74 (1995) 3526),
certain properties of the Local Potential Approximation (LPA) to the Wilson
renormalization group were uncovered, which led the authors to conclude that
dimensional scalar field theories endowed with {\sl non-polynomial}
interactions allow for a continuum of renormalization group fixed points, and
that around the Gaussian fixed point, asymptotically free interactions exist.
If true, this could herald very important new physics, particularly for the
Higgs sector of the Standard Model. Continuing work in support of these ideas,
has motivated us to point out that we previously studied the same properties
and showed that they lead to very different conclusions. Indeed, in as much as
the statements in hep-th/9406199 are correct, they point to some deep and
beautiful facts about the LPA and its generalisations, but however no new
physics.Comment: Typos corrected. A Comment - to be published in Phys. Rev. Lett. 1
page, 1 eps figure, uses LaTeX, RevTex and eps
Sensitivity of Nonrenormalizable Trajectories to the Bare Scale
Working in scalar field theory, we consider RG trajectories which correspond
to nonrenormalizable theories, in the Wilsonian sense. An interesting question
to ask of such trajectories is, given some fixed starting point in parameter
space, how the effective action at the effective scale, Lambda, changes as the
bare scale (and hence the duration of the flow down to Lambda) is changed. When
the effective action satisfies Polchinski's version of the Exact
Renormalization Group equation, we prove, directly from the path integral, that
the dependence of the effective action on the bare scale, keeping the
interaction part of the bare action fixed, is given by an equation of the same
form as the Polchinski equation but with a kernel of the opposite sign. We then
investigate whether similar equations exist for various generalizations of the
Polchinski equation. Using nonperturbative, diagrammatic arguments we find that
an action can always be constructed which satisfies the Polchinski-like
equation under variation of the bare scale. For the family of flow equations in
which the field is renormalized, but the blocking functional is the simplest
allowed, this action is essentially identified with the effective action at
Lambda = 0. This does not seem to hold for more elaborate generalizations.Comment: v1: 23 pages, 5 figures, v2: intro extended, refs added, published in
jphy
Scheme Independence to all Loops
The immense freedom in the construction of Exact Renormalization Groups means
that the many non-universal details of the formalism need never be exactly
specified, instead satisfying only general constraints. In the context of a
manifestly gauge invariant Exact Renormalization Group for SU(N) Yang-Mills, we
outline a proof that, to all orders in perturbation theory, all explicit
dependence of beta function coefficients on both the seed action and details of
the covariantization cancels out. Further, we speculate that, within the
infinite number of renormalization schemes implicit within our approach, the
perturbative beta function depends only on the universal details of the setup,
to all orders.Comment: 18 pages, 8 figures; Proceedings of Renormalization Group 2005,
Helsinki, Finland, 30th August - 3 September 2005. v2: Published in jphysa;
minor changes / refinements; refs. adde
Properties of derivative expansion approximations to the renormalization group
Approximation only by derivative (or more generally momentum) expansions,
combined with reparametrization invariance, turns the continuous
renormalization group for quantum field theory into a set of partial
differential equations which at fixed points become non-linear eigenvalue
equations for the anomalous scaling dimension . We review how these
equations provide a powerful and robust means of discovering and approximating
non-perturbative continuum limits. Gauge fields are briefly discussed.
Particular emphasis is placed on the r\^ole of reparametrization invariance,
and the convergence of the derivative expansion is addressed.Comment: (Minor touch ups of the lingo.) Invited talk at RG96, Dubna, Russia;
14 pages including 2 eps figures; uses LaTeX, epsf and sprocl.st
Holographic renormalisation group flows and renormalisation from a Wilsonian perspective
From the Wilsonian point of view, renormalisable theories are understood as
submanifolds in theory space emanating from a particular fixed point under
renormalisation group evolution. We show how this picture precisely applies to
their gravity duals. We investigate the Hamilton-Jacobi equation satisfied by
the Wilson action and find the corresponding fixed points and their
eigendeformations, which have a diagonal evolution close to the fixed points.
The relevant eigendeformations are used to construct renormalised theories. We
explore the relation of this formalism with holographic renormalisation. We
also discuss different renormalisation schemes and show that the solutions to
the gravity equations of motion can be used as renormalised couplings that
parametrise the renormalised theories. This provides a transparent connection
between holographic renormalisation group flows in the Wilsonian and
non-Wilsonian approaches. The general results are illustrated by explicit
calculations in an interacting scalar theory in AdS space.Comment: 63 pages. Minor changes and references added. Matches JHEP versio
Optimization of the derivative expansion in the nonperturbative renormalization group
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 of the derivative expansion.
This approach allows us to select optimized cut-off functions and to improve
the accuracy of the critical exponents and . 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 critical exponents.Comment: 13 pages, 9 PS figures, published versio
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