A simple class of unitary renormalization group transformations that force
hamiltonians towards a band-diagonal form produce few-body interactions in
which low- and high-energy states are decoupled, which can greatly simplify
many-body calculations. One such transformation has been applied to
phenomenological and effective field theory nucleon-nucleon interactions with
success, but further progress requires consistent treatment of at least the
three-nucleon interaction. In this paper we demonstrate in an extremely simple
model how these renormalization group transformations consistently evolve two-
and three-body interactions towards band-diagonal form, and introduce a
diagrammatic approach that generalizes to the realistic nuclear problem.Comment: 25 pages, 18 figures, minor typos corrected and references update