Quantum field theory with varying couplings

A quantum scalar field theory with spacetime-dependent coupling is studied. Surprisingly, while translation invariance is explicitly broken in the classical theory, momentum conservation is recovered at the quantum level for some specific choice of the coupling's profile for any finite-order perturbative expansion. For one of these cases, some tree and one-loop diagrams are calculated. This is an example of a theory where violation of Lorentz symmetry is not enhanced at the quantum level. We draw some consequences for the renormalization properties of certain classes of fractional field theories.Comment: 12 pages. v2: discussion improved, minor typos correcte

Heat kernel for Newton-Cartan trace anomalies

We compute the leading part of the trace anomaly for a free non-relativistic scalar in 2+1 dimensions coupled to a background Newton-Cartan metric. The anomaly is proportional to 1/m, where m is the mass of the scalar. We comment on the implications of a conjectured a-theorem for non-relativistic theories with boost invariance.Comment: 18 page

On Newton-Cartan trace anomalies

We classify the trace anomaly for parity-invariant non-relativistic Schr\"odinger theories in 2+1 dimensions coupled to background Newton-Cartan gravity. The general anomaly structure looks very different from the one in the z=2 Lifshitz theories. The type A content of the anomaly is remarkably identical to that of the relativistic 3+1 dimensional case, suggesting the conjecture that an a-theorem should exist also in the Newton-Cartan context. Erratum: due to an overcounting of the number of linearly-independent terms in the basis, the type A anomaly disappears if Frobenius condition is imposed. See appended erratum for details. This crucial mistake was pointed out to us in arXiv:1601.06795.Comment: 16 pages, V2:few equations corrected (final results unchanged), references added, typos, V3: erratum include

Quantum spectral dimension in quantum field theory

We reinterpret the spectral dimension of spacetimes as the scaling of an effective self-energy transition amplitude in quantum field theory (QFT), when the system is probed at a given resolution. This picture has four main advantages: (a) it dispenses with the usual interpretation (unsatisfactory in covariant approaches) where, instead of a transition amplitude, one has a probability density solving a nonrelativistic diffusion equation in an abstract diffusion time; (b) it solves the problem of negative probabilities known for higher-order and nonlocal dispersion relations in classical and quantum gravity; (c) it clarifies the concept of quantum spectral dimension as opposed to the classical one. We then consider a class of logarithmic dispersion relations associated with quantum particles and show that the spectral dimension $d_s$ of spacetime as felt by these quantum probes can deviate from its classical value, equal to the topological dimension $D$. In particular, in the presence of higher momentum powers it changes with the scale, dropping from $D$ in the infrared (IR) to a value $d_s^{\rm UV}\leq D$ in the ultraviolet (UV). We apply this general result to Stelle theory of renormalizable gravity, which attains the universal value $d_s^{\rm UV}=2$ for any dimension $D$.Comment: 26 pages, 3 figures; v2: discussion clarified and improved at several points, typos corrected, results unchanged; v3: some material confined to an appendix, discussion streamlined, results unchange

Trace anomaly for non-relativistic fermions

We study the coupling of a 2+1 dimensional non-relativistic spin 1/2 fermion to a curved Newton-Cartan geometry, using null reduction from an extra-dimensional relativistic Dirac action in curved spacetime. We analyze Weyl invariance in detail: we show that at the classical level it is preserved in an arbitrary curved background, whereas at the quantum level it is broken by anomalies. We compute the trace anomaly using the Heat Kernel method and we show that the anomaly coefficients a, c are proportional to the relativistic ones for a Dirac fermion in 3+1 dimensions. As for the previously studied scalar case, these coefficents are proportional to 1/m, where m is the non-relativistic mass of the particle.Comment: 23 page

Nonrelativistic trace and diffeomorphism anomalies in particle number background

Using the heat kernel method, we compute nonrelativistic trace anomalies for Schr\"odinger theories in flat spacetime, with a generic background gauge field for the particle number symmetry, both for a free scalar and a free fermion. The result is genuinely nonrelativistic, and it has no counterpart in the relativistic case. Contrary to the naive expectations, the anomaly is not gauge-invariant; this is similar to the non-gauge covariance of the non-abelian relativistic anomaly. We also show that, in the same background, the gravitational anomaly for a nonrelativistic scalar vanishes.Comment: 20 pages; V2 minor changes also in title, typo

Quantum mechanics in fractional and other anomalous spacetimes

We formulate quantum mechanics in spacetimes with real-order fractional geometry and more general factorizable measures. In spacetimes where coordinates and momenta span the whole real line, Heisenberg's principle is proven and the wave-functions minimizing the uncertainty are found. In spite of the fact that ordinary time and spatial translations are broken and the dynamics is not unitary, the theory is in one-to-one correspondence with a unitary one, thus allowing us to employ standard tools of analysis. These features are illustrated in the examples of the free particle and the harmonic oscillator. While fractional (and the more general anomalous-spacetime) free models are formally indistinguishable from ordinary ones at the classical level, at the quantum level they differ both in the Hilbert space and for a topological term fixing the classical action in the path integral formulation. Thus, all non-unitarity in fractional quantum dynamics is encoded in a contribution depending only on the initial and final state.Comment: 22 pages, 1 figure. v2: typos correcte

Standard Model in multiscale theories and observational constraints

We construct and analyze the Standard Model of electroweak and strong interactions in multiscale spacetimes with (i) weighted derivatives and (ii) $q$-derivatives. Both theories can be formulated in two different frames, called fractional and integer picture. By definition, the fractional picture is where physical predictions should be made. (i) In the theory with weighted derivatives, it is shown that gauge invariance and the requirement of having constant masses in all reference frames make the Standard Model in the integer picture indistinguishable from the ordinary one. Experiments involving only weak and strong forces are insensitive to a change of spacetime dimensionality also in the fractional picture, and only the electromagnetic and gravitational sectors can break the degeneracy. For the simplest multiscale measures with only one characteristic time, length and energy scale $t_*$, $\ell_*$ and $E_*$, we compute the Lamb shift in the hydrogen atom and constrain the multiscale correction to the ordinary result, getting the absolute upper bound $t_*<10^{-23}\,{\rm s}$. For the natural choice $\alpha_0=1/2$ of the fractional exponent in the measure, this bound is strengthened to $t_*<10^{-29}\,{\rm s}$, corresponding to $\ell_*<10^{-20}\,{\rm m}$ and $E_*>28\,{\rm TeV}$. Stronger bounds are obtained from the measurement of the fine-structure constant. (ii) In the theory with $q$-derivatives, considering the muon decay rate and the Lamb shift in light atoms, we obtain the independent absolute upper bounds $t_* < 10^{-13}{\rm s}$ and $E_*>35\,\text{MeV}$. For $\alpha_0=1/2$, the Lamb shift alone yields $t_*450\,\text{GeV}$.Comment: 25 pages. v2: authors' metadata corrected; v3: references added, new material added including a comparison with varying-couplings and effective field theories, a section on predictivity and falsifiability of multiscale theories, a discussion on classical CPT, expanded conclusions, and new QED constraints from the fine-structure constant; v3: minor typos corrected to match the published versio

Particle-physics constraints on multifractal spacetimes

We study electroweak interactions in the multiscale theory with $q$-derivatives, a framework where spacetime has the typical features of a multifractal. In the simplest case with only one characteristic time, length and energy scale $t_*$, $\ell_*$, and $E_*$, we consider (i) the muon decay rate and (ii) the Lamb shift in the hydrogen atom, and constrain the corrections to the ordinary results. We obtain the independent absolute upper bounds (i) $t_* 35\,\text{MeV}$. Under some mild theoretical assumptions, the Lamb shift alone yields the even tighter ranges $t_*<10^{-27}\,{\rm s}$, $\ell_*<10^{-19}\,{\rm m}$, and $E_*>450\,\text{GeV}$. To date, these are the first robust constraints on the scales at which the multifractal features of the geometry can become important in a physical process.Comment: 5 pages. v2: units of derived bounds corrected, direct bounds and conclusions unchanged; v3: minor typos corrected to match the published versio