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arXiv:2603.07045

Wave Function Renormalization for Particle-Field Interactions

Marco Falconi, Benjamin Hinrichs, Javier Valentín Martín

Published Mar 7, 2026• 0 citations
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Abstract

In this paper, we develop a wave function renormalization scheme for models of non-relativistic quantum particles interacting with a quantized relativistic field, in the Hamiltonian formalism of quantum field theory. We construct the interacting Hamilton operator, in its ground state representation, for a large class of particle-field interactions; hereby addressing a number of open problems related to both ultraviolet and infrared singularities in the spin-boson and Nelson models, where the infinite wave function renormalization plays a fundamental role.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.2603.07045

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In this paper, we develop a wave function renormalization scheme for models of non-relativistic quantum particles interacting with a quantized relativistic field, in the Hamiltonian formalism of quantum field theory. We construct the interacting Hamilton operator, in its ground state representation, for a large class of particle-field interactions; hereby addressing a number of open problems related to both ultraviolet and infrared singularities in the spin-boson and Nelson models, where the infinite wave function renormalization plays a fundamental role.
In the mid Sixties Edward Nelson proved the existence of a consistent quantum field theory that describes the Yukawa-like interaction of a non-relativistic nucleon field with a relativistic meson field. Since then it is thought, despite the renormalization procedure involved in the construction, that the quantum dynamics should be governed in the classical limit by a Schrödinger-Klein-Gordon system with Yukawa coupling. In the present paper we prove this fact in the form of a Bohr correspondence principle. Besides, our result enlighten the nature of the renormalization method employed in this model which we interpret as a strategy that allows to put the related classical Hamiltonian PDE in a normal form suitable for a canonical quantization.
An important way in which quantum field theory (QFT) differs from non-relativistic quantum mechanics is that in QFT systems generically possess an infinite number of degrees of freedom. This chapter examines the proposals for non-fundamental roles that the particle concept plays in particle physics. The fields which feature in the QFT formalism are mathematical expressions; work needs to be done to determine the ontological properties of the entities that are represented by the mathematical field formalism. One difficulty for the quanta interpretation of QFT is that the analysis in terms of quanta offered in the preceding paragraphs is restricted to free systems. The no-go results for interacting systems inspire a different approach to regarding particles as non-fundamental entities. The fields which feature in the QFT formalism are mathematical expressions; work needs to be done to determine the ontological properties of the entities that are represented by the mathematical field formalism.
This book is an attempt to build a consistent relativistic quantum theory of interacting particles. In the first part of the book "Quantum electrodynamics" we follow rather traditional approach to particle physics. Our discussion proceeds systematically from the principle of relativity and postulates of quantum measurements to the renormalization in quantum electrodynamics. In the second part of the book "Quantum theory of particles" this traditional approach is reexamined. We find that formulas of special relativity should be modified to take into account particle interactions. We also suggest reinterpreting quantum field theory in the language of physical "dressed" particles. This formulation eliminates the need for renormalization and opens up a new way for studying dynamical and bound state properties of quantum interacting systems. The developed theory is applied to realistic physical objects and processes including the energy spectrum of the hydrogen atom, the decay law of moving unstable particles, and the electric field of relativistic electron beams. These results force us to take a fresh look at some core issues of modern particle theories, in particular, the Minkowski space-time unification, the role of quantum fields and renormalization as well as the alleged impossibility of action-at-a-distance. A new perspective on these issues is suggested. It can help to solve the old problem of theoretical physics -- a consistent unification of relativity and quantum mechanics.
The object of this thesis is to study the definition and the mathematically rigorous derivation of effective models in many body quantum mechanics. In this field, it is often impossible to compte exactly physically relevant quantities - such as the ground state energy of a system - because of the large number of degrees of freedom. Hence, introducing effective models (depending only on the local density of particles for instance) allows us to compute these quantities. Then, it remains to check that the effective model is indeed an approximation of the exact model in a macroscopic limit. Besides, in some models, some physical quantities (energy, scattering amplitude...), when computed naively, appear to be infinite. One has then to renormalize the theory in order to make these divergences (that are not observed experimentally) disappear. After putting the results of this thesis into context in the introduction, we will focus on the renormalization of a bosonic quadratic Hamiltonian on the Fock space in Chapter 2. This (formal) Hamiltonian is the sum of the second quantization of a one-particle operator and the square of a field operator, and it exhibits an ultraviolet divergence (i.e. coming from local singularities). More accurately, we will try to define a self-adjoint operator, and to show that it is the limit (in the resolvent sense) of the Hamiltonian with ultraviolet cutoff when the cutoff tends to infinity. To do so, we will first diagonalize the Hamiltonian in the regular case, using Bogoliubov transformations. Then, we will prove that the diagonalized Hamiltonian (up to a renormalization of the energy and the charge) still defines a self-adjoint, and we will show the convergence of the Hamiltonian with cut-off. In a second time, we will study the semi-classical limit of a Fermi gas, in two different scalings. In Chapter 3, we will focus on the dilute limite (i.e. with an interaction range very small compared to the typical distance between particles) of an inhomogeneous (trapped with a potential V) Fermi gas, with repulsive interactions and in three dimensions. Due to the Pauli exclusion principle, two fermions of same spin can only rarely be close enough to interact. Thus, we will consider a Fermi gas with two spin components. We will then show that the ground state energy of such a system can be approximated by a Thomas-Fermi energy (in which interactions play the role of a perturbation of the interactionless energy) in the large number of particles limit. Eventually, in Chapter 4, we will study the mean-field limit (with frequent but weak interactions) of an inhomogeneous Fermi gas, with attractive interactions and in one or two dimensions this time. Once more, we will show the convergence of the ground state energy toward a Thomas-Fermi energy. Moreover, we will also prove the convergence of the ground states. More accurately, we will show that the Husimi functions of these ground states converge to a convex combination of minimizers of the Vlasov energy.
Here, we introduce the notion of low-energy interactions in non-relativistic quantum mechanics. The goal is to reproduce low-energy phenomenology only, which generally generates infinities, just as in relativistic quantum field theories. The resulting low-energy theory is called effective field theory of interactions, in analogy with the non-relativistic ‘pionless’ effective field theory widely used in nuclear physics. The predictive power of the effective theory depends upon the renormalizability of the theory, which removes the infinities while obtaining sound low-energy physics. Most of the chapter deals with perturbative and non-perturbative renormalization, which will be subsequently needed throughout the rest of the book.