Instantons in Quantum Mechanics and Resurgent Expansions

Certain quantum mechanical potentials give rise to a vanishing perturbation series for at least one energy level (which as we here assume is the ground state), but the true ground-state energy is positive. We show here that in a typical case, the eigenvalue may be expressed in terms of a generalized perturbative expansion (resurgent expansion). Modified Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization conditions lead to generalized perturbative expansions which may be expressed in terms of nonanalytic factors of the form exp(-a/g), where a > 0 is the instanton action, and power series in the coupling g, as well as logarithmic factors. The ground-state energy, for the specific Hamiltonians, is shown to be dominated by instanton effects, and we provide numerical evidence for the validity of the related conjectures.Comment: 12 pages, LaTeX; further typographical errors correcte

Multi-Instantons and Exact Results I: Conjectures, WKB Expansions, and Instanton Interactions

We consider specific quantum mechanical model problems for which perturbation theory fails to explain physical properties like the eigenvalue spectrum even qualitatively, even if the asymptotic perturbation series is augmented by resummation prescriptions to "cure" the divergence in large orders of perturbation theory. Generalizations of perturbation theory are necessary which include instanton configurations, characterized by nonanalytic factors exp(-a/g) where a is a constant and g is the coupling. In the case of one-dimensional quantum mechanical potentials with two or more degenerate minima, the energy levels may be represented as an infinite sum of terms each of which involves a certain power of a nonanalytic factor and represents itself an infinite divergent series. We attempt to provide a unified representation of related derivations previously found scattered in the literature. For the considered quantum mechanical problems, we discuss the derivation of the instanton contributions from a semi-classical calculation of the corresponding partition function in the path integral formalism. We also explain the relation with the corresponding WKB expansion of the solutions of the Schroedinger equation, or alternatively of the Fredholm determinant det(H-E) (and some explicit calculations that verify this correspondence). We finally recall how these conjectures naturally emerge from a leading-order summation of multi-instanton contributions to the path integral representation of the partition function. The same strategy could result in new conjectures for problems where our present understanding is more limited.Comment: 66 pages, LaTeX; refs. to part II preprint update

Random vector and matrix and vector theories: a renormalization group approach

Random matrices in the large N expansion and the so-called double scaling limit can be used as toy models for quantum gravity: 2D quantum gravity coupled to conformal matter. This has generated a tremendous expansion of random matrix theory, tackled with increasingly sophisticated mathematical methods and number of matrix models have been solved exactly. However, the somewhat paradoxical situation is that either models can be solved exactly or little can be said. Since the solved models display critical points and universal properties, it is tempting to use renormalization group ideas to determine universal properties, without solving models explicitly. Initiated by Br\'ezin and Zinn-Justin, the approach has led to encouraging results, first for matrix integrals and then quantum mechanics with matrices, but has not yet become a universal tool as initially hoped. In particular, general quantum field theories with matrix fields require more detailed investigations. To better understand some of the encountered difficulties, we first apply analogous ideas to the simpler O(N) symmetric vector models, models that can be solved quite generally in the large N limit. Unlike other attempts, our method is a close extension of Br\'ezin and Zinn-Justin. Discussing vector and matrix models with similar approximation scheme, we notice that in all cases (vector and matrix integrals, vector and matrix path integrals in the local approximation), at leading order, non-trivial fixed points satisfy the same universal algebraic equation, and this is the main result of this work. However, its precise meaning and role have still to be better understood

Proof of Razumov-Stroganov conjecture for some infinite families of link patterns

We prove the Razumov--Stroganov conjecture relating ground state of the O(1) loop model and counting of Fully Packed Loops in the case of certain types of link patterns. The main focus is on link patterns with three series of nested arches, for which we use as key ingredient of the proof a generalization of the Mac Mahon formula for the number of plane partitions which includes three series of parameters

Jucys-Murphy elements and Weingarten matrices

We provide a compact proof of the recent formula of Collins and Matsumoto for the Weingarten matrix of the orthogonal group using Jucys-Murphy elements.Comment: v2: added a referenc

Renormalization of gauge theories and master equation

The evolution of ideas which has led from the first proofs of the renormalizability of non-abelian gauge theories, based on Slavnov--Taylor identities, to the modern proof based on the BRS symmetry and the master equation is recalled. This lecture has been delivered at the {\bf Symposium in the Honour of Professor C. N. Yang}, Stony-Brook, May 21-22 1999.Comment: 9 pages, TeX, with private macros: zmacxxx.tex, lfont.te