QFT1 Exercise set 4 – please hand in by May 9, 2022 1

One-loop renormalization in scalar field theories

1. Pauli-Villars regularization (30 points)

The Pauli-Villars regularization method involves changing all momentum-space propagators
to avoid divergences in loop diagrams, by

m2 − Λ2
 
1 1 1
2 2
→ 2 2
− 2 2
= 2 . (1)
p − m + iϵ p − m + iϵ p − Λ + iϵ (p − m + iϵ)(p2 − Λ2 + iϵ)
2

This is somewhat similar to putting in a cutoff at the scale Λ (do you see why ?) but it
leads to simpler expressions (and preserves gauge-invariance in Abelian gauge theories).

(a) Consider the 2 → 2 scattering of ϕ particles in the ϕ4 theory up to order λ2 , that we

computed in detail in class using dimensional regularization. Verify that the Pauli-
Villars regularization renders this amplitude finite, and compute the resulting scatter-
ing amplitude M. You should keep all terms that diverge or remain finite as Λ → ∞.
Express your final answer in terms of the physical coupling constant λp defined by
the scattering amplitude at zero spatial momentum, as we did in class. Verify that
as Λ → ∞ you get the same answer that we obtained in class using dimensional
regularization for the scattering amplitude in terms of the physical coupling constant,

λ2p 1
m2 − x(1 − x)s
     2  
m − x(1 − x)t
Z
M = −λp − dx ln + ln + (t ↔ u) .
32π 2 0 m2 − x(1 − x)4m2 m2
(2)
Hints: 1) You should only use the Pauli-Villars regularization and no other regulariza-
tion (in particular, all integrals should be computed in four space-time dimensions).
2) If you write the amplitude using the form of the propagator on the right-hand side
of (1), you get a rather complicated expression. However, if you use the expression
in the middle of (1), you can write the amplitude as a sum of four relatively simple
terms. Each integral separately diverges but you can join them into pairs such that
each pair together converges.
3) You can evaluate the integral for each pair by similar manipulations to the ones we
did in class, namely introducing a Feynman parameter x, and shifting the integration
momentum in order to write the denominators as functions only of the momentum
squared. You need to be careful to perform manipulations like exchanging orders of
integration only on convergent integrals and not on divergent ones.
4) If in the final integrals you find you denote the momentum squared by y, your
integrals should be sums and differences of terms of the form
Z
ydy ∆
= + log(∆ − y) + const. (3)
(y − ∆)2 ∆−y

By arranging combinations that are convergent you can evaluate these integrals.
5) After evaluating the integrals (but not before !) you can take Λ → ∞, keeping only
divergent and finite terms, in order to simplify the expressions.
 (b) In the same theory, consider the connected contribution at order λ to the 2-point
function ⟨T (ϕ(x1 )ϕ(x2 ))⟩. Draw the diagrams and write down the expression for this
contribution, in position space or in momentum space, without computing the integral.
(Note that this is not a scattering amplitude, so you should use the Feynman rules for
correlation functions that we derived at the beginning of the course.) Does the Pauli-
Villars regularization make this expression finite ? Does dimensional regularization
make it finite (when (d − 4) is small and non-zero) ?

2. Scalar field theory in arbitrary dimensions (10 points)

Consider a scalar field theory in d space-time dimensions, with Lagrangian density
1 µ 1
L= ∂ ϕ∂µ ϕ − m2 ϕ2 − V (ϕ). (4)
2 2

In class we saw that the most general renormalizable choice for the potential for d = 4 was
V (ϕ) = λ3!3 ϕ3 + λ4!4 ϕ4 .

(a) For d = 3, which choices of V (ϕ) give rise to renormalizable field theories ?
(b) For d = 2, which choices of V (ϕ) give rise to renormalizable field theories ?

There is no need to analyze the divergences in detail, it is enough to consider the superficial
degrees of divergence as we discussed in class.

3. One-loop renormalization of ϕ3 theory in four dimensions (15 points)

Consider the Lagrangian for a massive real scalar field with cubic self-interaction,
1 1 g
L= (∂µ ϕ)2 − m2 ϕ2 − ϕ3 , (5)
2 2 3!
in four space-time dimensions. The Feynman rules for this theory are analogous to the ones
we derived for the ϕ4 theory in class. The potential of this theory has a minimum at ϕ = 0,
so perturbation theory is well-defined. However, the full potential is not bounded from
below (for either sign of the coupling constant g), so the full quantum theory is ill-defined
because of the possibility to tunnel away from the ϕ = 0 vacuum. This can be ignored for
the purposes of this question.

(a) Compute the superficial degree of divergence for general processes in this theory (in
four space-time dimensions). Is the theory renormalizable, super-renormalizable or
non-renormalizable ? What is the scaling dimension of the coupling constant g ?
(b) Assume that the diagrams with a single external leg vanish, ⟨Ω|ϕ(0)|Ω⟩ = 0, even
though here there is no symmetry that sets them to zero (if it is not true, we can
always change variables to ϕ(x) → ϕ(x) − ⟨Ω|ϕ(0)|Ω⟩ which has this property). This
implies also that the sum over all diagrams which include an internal propagator ending
on a scalar loop (“tadpole diagrams” of topology -O ) vanishes, so such diagrams can

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 be ignored. What are all the diagrams in this theory that superficially diverge (using
the general formula we derived in class) and that need to be renormalized ? Do all of
these diagrams really diverge as the cutoff goes to infinity (if not, they do not need
to take part in the renormalization) ? Are there any superficially divergent diagrams
with more than one loop ?

4. The ϕ3 theory in six dimensions (45 points)

Consider the same scalar field theory as in (5) but now in d = 6 space-time dimensions,
and consider the 3-point correlation function of ϕ’s in momentum space

⟨ϕ̃(p1 )ϕ̃(p2 )ϕ̃(p3 )⟩. (6)

Even though this does not have any precise physical meaning, consider the connected am-
putated contribution to this correlation function, where amputated means (as in scattering
amplitudes) throwing away the propagators connected to the “external” ϕ’s, as well as
all corrections to the propagation of these ϕ’s before they start interacting with the other
fields. Note that we use a correlation function and not a scattering amplitude, because
momentum conservation does not allow a scattering of two massive ϕ particles to a single
ϕ or vice versa.
At leading order in perturbation theory this amputated correlation function is given by

− ig(2π)6 δ (6) (p1 + p2 + p3 ). (7)

(a) At what order in perturbation theory does the first correction to this amputated
correlation function appear ? Draw all the Feynman diagrams that give rise to the
first correction. Hint: You should find a single Feynman diagram.
(b) Compute the first correction in a regularization of your choice. You can express your
answer as an integral over “Feynman parameters” as we did in class.
Hints: You can use the equation
Z 1
1
=2 dx1 dx2 dx3 δ(x1 + x2 + x3 − 1)(x1 A + x2 B + x3 C)−3 , (8)
ABC 0

and if you use dimensional regularization, you can use the equation (in Euclidean
space)
dd p Γ(3 − d2 ) −(3−d/2)
Z
1
= ∆ , (9)
(2π)d (p2 + ∆)3 2(4π)d/2
and the small ϵ expansion
1
Γ(ϵ) = − γ + O(ϵ). (10)
ϵ
(c) Define a physical coupling constant gp (for the purposes of this question you do not
have to define this via a scattering amplitude as we did in class, but you can define
it using something that you already computed). Express the result you found above
for the amputated correlation function in terms of the physical coupling constant.

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Does the dependence on the renormalization disappear, as you would expect in a
renormalizable field theory ? (If you use a cutoff-type regularization it is enough to
write the result in the limit where the cutoff goes to infinity, if that limit exists.)