Wilsonian approach to the interaction $\phi^2(i\phi)^\varepsilon$

TL;DR

This paper investigates the renormalisation of a non-Hermitian, PT-symmetric scalar field theory with interaction $\,\, ext{using the Wilsonian approach, solving the Wetterich equation, and analyzing its renormalisability and beta functions without epsilon expansion.

Contribution

It provides a non-perturbative analysis of the renormalisation of PT-symmetric scalar theories for arbitrary epsilon, highlighting the special cases epsilon=1,2, and revealing asymptotic freedom for the -phi^4 theory.

Findings

Renormalisable at one-loop only for integer epsilon values.

Explicit beta functions for epsilon=1,2 cases.

The -phi^4 theory exhibits asymptotic freedom in four dimensions.

Abstract

We study the renormalisation of the non-Hermitian $\mathcal{P}\mathcal{T}$-symmetric scalar field theory with the interaction $\phi^2(i\phi)^\varepsilon$ using the Wilsonian approach and without any expansion in $\varepsilon$. Specifically, we solve the Wetterich equation in the local potential approximation, both in the ultraviolet regime and with the loop expansion. We calculate the scale-dependent effective potential and its infrared limit. The theory is found to be renormalisable at the one-loop level only for integer values of $\varepsilon$, a result which is not yet established within the $\varepsilon$-expansion. Particular attention is therefore paid to the two interesting cases $\varepsilon=1,2$, and the one-loop beta functions for the coupling associated with the interaction $i\phi^3$ and $-\phi^4$ are computed. It is found that the $-\phi^4$ theory has asymptotic freedom in four-dimensional spacetime. Some general properties for the Euclidean partition function and $n$-point functions are also derived.