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arXiv:1903.09503 · SciPost Physics Core

Resolving phase transitions with discontinuous Galerkin methods

Eduardo Grossi, Nicolas Wink

Published Oct 25, 2023• 42 citations
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Abstract

We demonstrate the applicability and advantages of Discontinuous Galerkin (DG) schemes in the context of the Functional Renormalization Group (fRG). We investigate the O(N) O ( N ) -model in the large N N limit. It is shown that the flow equation for the effective potential can be cast into a conservative form. We discuss results for the Riemann problem, as well as initial conditions leading to a first and second order phase transition. In particular, we unravel the mechanism underlying first order phase transitions, based on the formation of a shock in the derivative of the effective potential.

DOI
10.21468/scipostphyscore.6.4.071

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We demonstrate the applicability and advantages of Discontinuous Galerkin (DG) schemes in the context of the Functional Renormalization Group (fRG). We investigate the O(N) O ( N ) -model in the large N N limit. It is shown that the flow equation for the effective potential can be cast into a conservative form. We discuss results for the Riemann problem, as well as initial conditions leading to a first and second order phase transition. In particular, we unravel the mechanism underlying first order phase transitions, based on the formation of a shock in the derivative of the effective potential.
Numerical fluid dynamics for FRG flow equations: Zero-dimensional QFTs as numerical test cases - Part I: The O(N)O(N)O(N) model
The functional renormalization group (FRG) approach is a powerful tool for studies of a large variety of systems, ranging from statistical physics over the theory of the strong interaction to gravity. The practical application of this approach relies on the derivation of so-called flow equations, which describe the change of the quantum effective action under the variation of a coarse-graining parameter. In the present work, we discuss in detail a novel approach to solve such flow equations. This approach relies on the fact that RG equations can be rewritten such that they exhibit similarities with the conservation laws of fluid dynamics. This observation can be exploited in different ways. First of all, we show that this allows to employ powerful numerical techniques developed in the context of fluid dynamics to solve RG equations. In particular, it allows to reliably treat the emergence of non-analytic behavior in the RG flow of the effective action as it is expected to occur in studies of, e.g., spontaneous symmetry breaking. Second, the analogy between RG equations and fluid dynamics offers the opportunity to gain novel insights into RG flows and their interpretation in general, including the irreversibility of RG flows. We work out this connection in practice by applying it to zero-dimensional quantum-field theoretical models. The generalization to higher-dimensional models is also discussed. Our findings are expected to help improving future FRG studies of quantum field theories in higher dimensions both on a qualitative and quantitative level.
The functional renormalization group (FRG) approach is a powerful tool for studies of a large variety of systems, ranging from statistical physics over the theory of the strong interaction to gravity. The practical application of this approach relies on the derivation of so-called flow equations, which describe the change of the quantum effective action under the variation of a coarse-graining parameter. In the present work, we discuss in detail a novel approach to solve such flow equations. This approach relies on the fact that RG equations can be rewritten such that they exhibit similarities with the conservation laws of fluid dynamics. This observation can be exploited in different ways. First of all, we show that this allows to employ powerful numerical techniques developed in the context of fluid dynamics to solve RG equations. In particular, it allows us to reliably treat the emergence of nonanalytic behavior in the RG flow of the effective action as it is expected to occur in studies of, e.g., spontaneous symmetry breaking. Second, the analogy between RG equations and fluid dynamics offers the opportunity to gain novel insights into RG flows and their interpretation in general, including the irreversibility of RG flows. We work out this connection in practice by applying it to zero-dimensional quantum-field theoretical models. The generalization to higher-dimensional models is also discussed. Our findings are expected to help improving future FRG studies of quantum field theories in higher dimensions both on a qualitative and quantitative level.
We apply the functional renormalization group theory to the dynamics of first-order phase transitions and show that a potential with all odd-order terms can describe spinodal decomposition phenomena. We derive a momentum-dependent dynamic flow equation which is decoupled from the static flow equation. We find the expected instability fixed points; and their associated exponents agree remarkably with the existent theoretical and numerical results. The complex renormalization group flows are found and their properties are shown. Both the exponents and the complex flows show that the spinodal decomposition possesses singularity with consequent scaling and universality.
The renormalization group (RG) equation in the self-consistent local potential approximation (SC-LPA) suggested earlier for the description of continuous phase transitions in lattice models of the Landau-Ginzburg type has been applied to the solution of the spin-1 Blume-Capel model on the simple cubic lattice. The calculated transition temperatures of both continuous and the first-order phase transitions (FOPTs) in zero external field have been found to be in excellent agreement with the best available estimates. It has been argued that the SC-LPA RG equation may give more accurate and complete description of the FOPTs than those reported in alternative approaches. It has been shown that the SC-LPA RG equation can be cast in the form of the generalized Burgers' equation (GBE). In this formulation of the RG the FOPTs have been shown to assume the form of the shock-wave solutions of GBE in the inviscid limit. Universality of the RG flow in the vicinity of the fixed point describing FOPTs has been discussed.
We compute the critical exponents of the O(N) model within the Functional Renormalization Group (FRG) approach. We use recent advances which are based on the observation that the FRG flow equation can be put into the form of an advection-diffusion equation. This allows to employ well-tested hydrodynamical algorithms for its solution. In this study we work in the local potential approximation (LPA) for the effective average action and put special emphasis on estimating the various sources of errors. Our results complement previous results for the critical exponents obtained within the FRG approach in LPA. Despite the limitations imposed by restricting the discussion to the LPA, the results compare favorably with those obtained via other methods.
Abstract The known approximation schemes for the solution of the Wetterich exact renormalization group (RG) equation are critically reconsidered, and a new truncation scheme is proposed. In particular, the equations of the derivative expansion up to the ∂ 2 order for a scalar model are derived in a suitable form, clarifying the role of the off-diagonal terms in the matrix of functional derivatives. The natural domain of validity of the derivative expansion appears to be limited to small values of q / k in the calculation of the critical two-point correlation function, depending on the wave-vector magnitude q and the infrared cut-off scale k . The new approximation scheme has the advantage to be valid for any q / k , and, therefore, it can be auspicious in many current and potential applications of the celebrated Wetterich equation and similar models. Contrary to the derivative expansion, derivatives are not truncated at a finite order in the new scheme. The RG flow equations in the first approximation of this new scheme are derived and approximately solved as an example. It is shown that the derivative expansion up to the ∂ 2 order is just the small- q approximation of our new equations at the first order of truncation.