The breakdown of resummed perturbation theory at high energies
Abstract Calculations of high-energy processes involving the production of a large number of particles in weakly-coupled quantum field theories have previously signaled the need for novel non-perturbative behavior or even new physical phenomena. In some scenarios, already tree-level computations may...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SpringerOpen
2022-03-01
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| Series: | Journal of High Energy Physics |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP03(2022)100 |
| _version_ | 1811273470602903552 |
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| author | Sebastian Schenk |
| author_facet | Sebastian Schenk |
| author_sort | Sebastian Schenk |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Calculations of high-energy processes involving the production of a large number of particles in weakly-coupled quantum field theories have previously signaled the need for novel non-perturbative behavior or even new physical phenomena. In some scenarios, already tree-level computations may enter the regime of large-order perturbation theory and therefore require a careful investigation. We demonstrate that in scalar quantum field theories with a unique global minimum, where suitably resummed perturbative expansions are expected to capture all relevant physical effects, perturbation theory may still suffer from severe shortcomings in the high-energy regime. As an example, we consider the computation of multiparticle threshold amplitudes of the form 1 → n in φ 6 theory with a positive mass term, and show that they may violate unitarity of the quantum theory for large n, even after the resummation of all leading-n quantum corrections. We further argue that this is a generic feature of scalar field theories with higher-order self-interactions beyond φ 4, thereby rendering the latter unique with respect to its high-energy behavior. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T22:59:42Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-142387da7e274754b53b9833e1b333d8 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1029-8479 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T22:59:42Z |
| publishDate | 2022-03-01 |
| publisher | SpringerOpen |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of High Energy Physics |
| spelling | doaj.art-142387da7e274754b53b9833e1b333d82022-12-22T03:13:05ZengSpringerOpenJournal of High Energy Physics1029-84792022-03-012022312810.1007/JHEP03(2022)100The breakdown of resummed perturbation theory at high energiesSebastian Schenk0Institute for Particle Physics Phenomenology, Durham UniversityAbstract Calculations of high-energy processes involving the production of a large number of particles in weakly-coupled quantum field theories have previously signaled the need for novel non-perturbative behavior or even new physical phenomena. In some scenarios, already tree-level computations may enter the regime of large-order perturbation theory and therefore require a careful investigation. We demonstrate that in scalar quantum field theories with a unique global minimum, where suitably resummed perturbative expansions are expected to capture all relevant physical effects, perturbation theory may still suffer from severe shortcomings in the high-energy regime. As an example, we consider the computation of multiparticle threshold amplitudes of the form 1 → n in φ 6 theory with a positive mass term, and show that they may violate unitarity of the quantum theory for large n, even after the resummation of all leading-n quantum corrections. We further argue that this is a generic feature of scalar field theories with higher-order self-interactions beyond φ 4, thereby rendering the latter unique with respect to its high-energy behavior.https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP03(2022)100Field Theories in Lower DimensionsNonperturbative EffectsResummation |
| spellingShingle | Sebastian Schenk The breakdown of resummed perturbation theory at high energies Journal of High Energy Physics Field Theories in Lower Dimensions Nonperturbative Effects Resummation |
| title | The breakdown of resummed perturbation theory at high energies |
| title_full | The breakdown of resummed perturbation theory at high energies |
| title_fullStr | The breakdown of resummed perturbation theory at high energies |
| title_full_unstemmed | The breakdown of resummed perturbation theory at high energies |
| title_short | The breakdown of resummed perturbation theory at high energies |
| title_sort | breakdown of resummed perturbation theory at high energies |
| topic | Field Theories in Lower Dimensions Nonperturbative Effects Resummation |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP03(2022)100 |
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