One-loop integrability with shifting masses

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that two-dimensional massive quantum field theories with polynomial interactions that are elastic at tree level remain elastic at one loop if masses are properly renormalized, preserving integrability.

Contribution

It shows that mass renormalization ensures one-loop integrability in a broad class of theories, extending known S-matrix formulas to models with shifting masses.

Findings

Elasticity is preserved at one loop after mass corrections.

One-loop inelastic processes vanish with proper mass renormalization.

The extended S-matrix formula matches known results for affine Toda theories.

Abstract

We investigate the perturbative integrability of two-dimensional massive quantum field theories with polynomial-like interactions and show that any theory of such class which is purely elastic at the tree level is also purely elastic at one loop. To preserve the elasticity, the physical renormalized masses of the theory must differ from the classical ones by quantum corrections carried by one-loop bubble diagrams. After the masses are corrected in this manner we show that one-loop inelastic processes vanish and integrability is preserved under one-loop effects. Relying on this fact we show that the closed expression for one-loop S-matrices in terms of tree S-matrices obtained in arXiv:2402.12087 extends to models that do not preserve the mass ratios at one loop. We test our results on the full class of nonsimply-laced affine Toda theories and find exact match with the S-matrices bootstrapped in the past.