By writing the flow equations for the continuum Legendre effective action (a.k.a. Helmholtz free energy) with respect to a particular form of smooth cutoff, and performing a derivative expansion up to some maximum order, a set of differential equations are obtained which at FPs (Fixed Points) reduce to non-linear eigenvalue equations for the anomalous scaling dimension \\eta. Illustrating this by expanding (single component) scalar field theory, in two, three and four dimensions, up to second order in derivatives, we show that the method is a powerful and robust means of discovering and quantifying non-perturbative continuum limits (continuous phase transitions).
By writing the flow equations for the continuum Legendre effective action (a.k.a. Helmholtz free energy) with respect to a particular form of smooth cutoff, and performing a derivative expansion up to some maximum order, a set of differential equations are obtained which at FPs (Fixed Points) reduce to non-linear eigenvalue equations for the anomalous scaling dimension \eta. Illustrating this by expanding (single component) scalar field theory, in two, three and four dimensions, up to second order in derivatives, we show that the method is a powerful and robust means of discovering and quantifying non-perturbative continuum limits (continuous phase transitions).
We employ perturbative renormalization group and $\ensuremath{\epsilon}$-expansion to study multicritical single-scalar field theories with higher derivative kinetic terms of the form $\ensuremath{\phi}(\ensuremath{-}\ensuremath{\square}{)}^{k}\ensuremath{\phi}$. We focus on those with a Z2-symmetric critical point which are characterized by an upper critical dimension ${d}_{c}=2nk/(n\ensuremath{-}1)$ accumulating at even integers. We distinguish two types of theories depending on whether or not the numbers k and $n\ensuremath{-}1$ are relatively prime. When they are, the critical theory involves a marginal powerlike interaction ${\ensuremath{\phi}}^{2n}$ and the deformations admit a derivative expansion that at leading order involves only the potential. In this case we present the beta functional of the potential and use this to calculate some anomalous dimensions and operator product expansion coefficients. These confirm some conformal field theory data obtained using conformal-block techniques, while giving new results. In the second case where k and $n\ensuremath{-}1$ have a common divisor, the theories show a much richer structure induced by the presence of marginal derivative operators at criticality. We study the case k=2 with odd values of n, which fall in the second class, and calculate the functional flows and spectrum. These theories have a phase diagram characterized at leading order in $\ensuremath{\epsilon}$ by four fixed points which apart from the Gaussian UV fixed point include an IR fixed point with a purely derivative interaction.
The large distance behaviour, near the critical temperature, of continuous phase transitions with short range interactions can be reproduced by an effective local field theory. Within this framework, the universal properties of the large distance can be determined by finding fixed points of general, functional renormalization group (RG) equations (Wilson, Wegner). For dimension D > 4, the large scale behavior is governed by the Gaussian fixed point (related to mean field theory), while for D < 4 the Gaussian fixed point is unstable. Near D = 4, the RG equations can be solved in the form of an ǫ = 4 − D expansion, a new stable fixed point is found and this leads to the famous Wilson-Fisher expansion for critical exponents and other universal quantities. Moreover, one realizes that, in this framework, the effective field theory can be reduced to a renormalizable field theory and, at leading order in the critical domain, the much simpler quantum field theory renormalization group can be used. A number of physicists, including the Saclay group (Brezin, Le Guillou, Zinn-Justin) have developed sophisticated field theory techniques, to prove general scaling laws and to calculate exponents to higher orders [1].
Continuous phase transitions provide a natural setting for understanding universality. Near criticality, the correlation length diverges, microscopic details become increasingly irrelevant, and physical observables obey scaling laws characterized by universal critical exponents. Within the Functional Renormalization Group (FRG), this scale dependence is described through the Effective Average Action, which progressively incorporates fluctuations as the momentum scale is lowered. A first part of this thesis is developed within the Local Potential Approximation (LPA), where we study multicritical fixed points of scalar field theories. Their universal properties are compared with results obtained at higher orders in the derivative expansion. Particular attention is devoted to the relation between global fixed-point potentials and their local representations through finite polynomial truncations. We show that the convergence of such expansions is constrained by the analytic structure of the global solution, and that expanding around a suitable nonzero stationary point significantly improves the reconstruction of multicritical branches. Beyond the structure of individual fixed points, a central part of this thesis concerns RG irreversibility. In two dimensions, Zamolodchikov’s c-theorem describes the flow from the ultraviolet to the infrared through a monotonically decreasing c-function. Within the FRG framework, we develop a variational procedure to reconstruct RG trajectories between fixed points and integrate the corresponding c-function along them. The resulting quantity displays monotonic behaviour and becomes increasingly stable as the truncation order is raised, providing a manifestation of RG irreversibility within the approximation considered. Finally, close to the upper critical dimensions, the linearized FRG flow around the Gaussian fixed point is naturally organized in terms of Hermite polynomials. Using the epsilon-expansion, we derive a curvature-based candidate c-function and obtain an analytic explanation for the alternating curvature of successive multicritical fixed points and for their progressive accumulation around the Gaussian fixed point.
The connection between the anomalous dimension and some invariance properties of the fixed point actions within exact RG is explored. As an application, Polchinski equation at next-to-leading order in the derivative expansion is studied. For the Wilson fixed point of the one-component scalar theory in three dimensions we obtain the critical exponents η = 0.042, ν = 0.622 and ω = 0.689. UB-ECM-PF 97/05 The derivative expansion [1] is, up to now, the most reliable approximation available when dealing with exact renormalization group equations (exact RG equations, hereafter). Nevertheless, although quite simple at lowest order, 1 some subtleties appear beyond it.
The Polchinski exact renormalization group equation for a scalar field theory in arbitrary dimensions is translated, by means of a covariant Hamiltonian formalism, into a partial differential equation for an effective Hamiltonian density that depends on an infinite tower of momenta fields with higher spin. A natural approximation scheme is then expanding the Hamiltonian in momenta with increasing rank. The first order of this expansion, one next to the local potential approximation, is regulator-independent and already includes infinitely many derivative interactions. Further truncating this down to a quadratic dependence on the momenta leads to an alternative to the first order of the derivative expansion, which is used to compute η=0.03616(1) for the critical exponent of the three dimensional Ising model.
Continuous field models were originally systematically elaborated (and still are) in the context of particle physics. Most relevant to the study of critical phenomena is the derivation of a renormalization group flow, characterized by a set of Callan–Symanzik equations for Green functions, with regular coefficients derived from perturbation theory. This is supplemented by the idea due to Fisher and Wilson of an expansion in powers of the deviation from the strict renormalizability dimension, i.e. four in the case of the ϕ 4 model, but can also be presumed to work directly in the physical dimension three (and even possibly two). We devote this chapter to a general presentation and a survey of some applications. An appendix gives a short introduction to multicritical phenomena. The Lagrangian and dimensional analysis Introduction We want to investigate universal critical properties. A discrete lattice model appears as a regularizing intermediate stage, which allows a precise meaning to be given to the functional integrals of the field theory. Following the scheme suggested by the mean field approximation, one is tempted to start directly from a continuous model, in which the lattice is replaced by a d -dimensional continuous Euclidean space, and also, even for models with a discrete symmetry, the dynamical variables are replaced by continuous fields. From the original formulation, we just retain the idea of a cutoff factor ∧ large with respect to all momenta, which ensures that some possibly divergent expressions remain finite.