Part III Maths Lent Term 2018
Advanced Quantum Field Theory
Example Sheet 2
Please email me with any comments about these problems, particularly if you
spot an error. Problems with an asterisk (∗) may be more difficult.
1. Let H be the Hamiltonian of a quantum simple harmonic oscillator of unit mass in one
dimension, with frequency ω. Let H be the corresponding Hilbert space. Using standard
canonical quantum mechanics, compute the partition function Z(ω, β) = trH (e−βH ) in
units with ~ = 1.
Write this partition function in terms of a formal Euclidean worldline path integral over
the space of maps x : S 1 → R, making clear the role of β and the choice of action S[x].
Regularize this formal path integral by imposing a hard cut-off on the eigenvalues of
the quadratic operator in the wordline action. What is the regularized path integral
measure? Show that the regularized partition function is given by
N
" 2 #−1
AN Y 2πn
ZN (ω, β) = ω2 + .
ω β
n=1
where N labels the cut-off and AN is a constant that is independent of ω. [You need
not determine the value of AN .]
Consider the ratio
ZN (ω1 , β)
ZN (ω2 , β)
of regularized partition functions for harmonic oscillators of different frequencies. By
examining the zeros and poles of this ratio as a function of (ω1 , ω2 ), show that the limit
lim ZN (ω, β)
N →∞
agrees with your answer obtained earlier, up to an overall constant.
2. Consider the theory given by the action
Z
1 1 g λ
S[φ] = dd x ∂µ φ ∂ µ φ + m2 φ2 + φ3 + φ4 .
2 2 3! 4!
where φ is a real scalar field.
1
(a) Determine all connected one loop graphs, complete with their appropriate symme-
try factors, which contribute to
hφ(x)φ(y)i , hφ(x)φ(y)φ(z)i and hφ(x)φ(y)φ(z)φ(w)i ,
expressing your answer in terms of integrals over d-dimensional loop momenta.
[You are not required to evaluate the integrals.]
(b) Now set λ = 0 so that just the cubic interaction remains. Determine the momen-
R Q3 d ipi ·xi hφ(x )φ(x )φ(x )i to one loop
tum space correlation function i=1 d xi e 1 2 3
accuracy.
3. Let ψ i denote a (fermionic) Dirac spinor field transforming in the fundamental rep-
resentation of an SU(N ) gauge group, and let ψ̄j denote the Dirac conjugate spinor
transforming in the antifundamental. Let (Aµ )i j denote the gauge field for this inter-
action. Write down all possible SU(N ) gauge invariant local operators involving these
fields that are relevant or marginal near the Gaussian critical point, in the cases that
the space–time has dimension d = 4, d = 3 and d = 2.
4. Show that under the redefinition gi → gi0 (gj ) of the couplings of a theory at scale Λ, the
β-functions transform as
∂g 0
βi → βi0 = i βj .
∂gj
Show that in a theory with a single coupling g, the first two terms in the β–function
β(g) = ag 3 + cg 5 + O(g 7 ) are invariant under any coupling constant redefinition of the
form g → g 0 = g + O(g 3 ). Show that, in a neighbourhood of g = 0, it is possible to
choose this redefinition so as to remove all terms except these first two. [Hint: consider
setting g 0 (g) = g + g 3 f (g) where f (0) = 1.] What is the significance of this calculation?
5. Consider a four dimensional theory whose only couplings are a mass parameter m2 and
a marginally relevant coupling g.
(a) Write down generic expressions for the β-functions in such a theory to lowest
non–trivial order. (You should be able to identify the values of the classical contri-
butions to the β-functions, and the sign of the leading–order quantum correction
to β(g).)
(b) Sketch the RG flows for this theory.
(c) Suppose that g(Λ0 ) = 0.1 when the cut–off Λ0 is fixed at 105 GeV. If m2 (Λ0 ) is
measured to be 100 GeV, what value of m2 (Λ) would be needed at the higher scale
Λ = 1019 GeV?
(d) Suppose you changed your value of m2 (Λ) by one part in 1020 . What would be
the change in m2 (Λ0 )?
