Renormalization and divergences

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SUMMARY

The discussion focuses on the challenges of renormalization in quantum field theories, specifically contrasting renormalizable and non-renormalizable theories. It highlights a formula for mass expressed as an integral involving a divergent parameter \( a = \ln \epsilon \), where \( \epsilon \) approaches zero. The numerical integration method is proposed to express \( a \) in terms of mass \( m \), leading to a new integral formulation. The key conclusion is that while iterative substitutions work in renormalizable theories, non-renormalizable theories face unresolved divergences due to insufficient parameters for substitution.

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  • Understanding of quantum field theory concepts
  • Familiarity with integral calculus and numerical integration techniques
  • Knowledge of perturbation theory in physics
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  • Study the principles of quantum field theory and its mathematical foundations
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The discussion is beneficial for theoretical physicists, graduate students in physics, and researchers focusing on quantum field theory and renormalization techniques.

eljose
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renormalization and divergences...

let suppose we have a formula for the mass in the form:

m=\int_{0}^{\infty}dxf(x)e^{-ax} a=ln\epsilon

with epsilon tending to zero so a is divergent..but if we perform the integral numerically:

m=\sum_{j}w(x_{j})c_{j}f(x_{j})e^{-ax_{j})

so we could express the quantity a in terms of the mass m so a=g(m) so we could put inside the integral to calculate the m:

m=\int_{0}^{\infty}dxf(x)e^{-xg(m)} and from this equation obtain a value for the mass m.

I Know something similar is made for renormalizable theory..but why can not be made for non-renormalizable ones?...:frown: :frown:
 
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What you have is a toy example of a single integral. A quantum field theory requires iterations of such substitutions across an infinite tower of integrals of progressively higher dimension as you move up in perturbative order.

In renormalizable theories the iterative substitution works. After performing the substitutions you worked out at the lower orders you're left with an unproblematic substitution at the current order. In non-renormalizable theories you are not. There will be an order of perturbation theory with an integral that even after the lower order substitutions will be left with ##M > N## divergences, with ##N## the number of parameters available to perform substitution with.
 

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