Wilsonian renormalization, differential equations and Hopf algebras

Abstract

In this paper, we present an algebraic formalism inspired by Butcher's B-series in numerical analysis and the Connes-Kreimer approach to perturbative renormalization. We first define power series of non linear operators and propose several applications, among which the perturbative solution of a fixed point equation using the non linear geometric series. Then, following Polchinski, we show how perturbative renormalization works for a non linear perturbation of a linear differential equation that governs the flow of effective actions. Then, we define a general Hopf algebra of Feynman diagrams adapted to iterations of background field effective action computations. As a simple combinatorial illustration, we show how these techniques can be used to recover the universality of the Tutte polynomial and its relation to the $q$-state Potts model. As a more sophisticated example, we use ordered diagrams with decorations and external structures to solve the Polchinski's exact renormalization group equation. Finally, we work out an analogous construction for the Schwinger-Dyson equations, which yields a bijection between planar $\phi^{3}$ diagrams and a certain class of decorated rooted trees.Comment: 42 pages, 26 figures in PDF format, extended version of a talk given at the conference "Combinatorics and physics" held at Max Planck Institut fuer Mathematik in Bonn in march 2007, some misprints correcte