Renormalization Group Flows for Brane Couplings

TL;DR

This paper investigates how classical and quantum divergences in brane field theories lead to renormalization group flows of brane couplings, using a six-dimensional scalar field model as an example.

Contribution

It provides a framework for interpreting classical divergences as renormalization effects and derives RG equations for brane couplings at tree level and one-loop order.

Findings

Classical divergences induce non-trivial RG flows for brane couplings.

Logarithmic divergences appear at zero thickness, affecting the renormalization process.

Derived RG equations include bulk-to-brane effects at one-loop order.

Abstract

Field theories in the presence of branes encounter localized divergences that renormalize brane couplings. The sources of these brane-localized divergences are understood as arising either from broken translation invariance, or from short distance singularities as the brane thickness vanishes. While the former are generated only by quantum corrections, the latter can appear even at the classical level. Using as an example six-dimensional scalar field theory in the background of a 3-brane, we show how to interpret such classical divergences by the usual regularization and renormalization procedure of quantum field theory. In our example, the zero thickness divergences are logarithmic, and lead classically to non-trivial renormalization group flows for the brane couplings. We construct the tree level renormalization group equations for these couplings as well as the one-loop corrections to these flows from bulk-to-brane renormalization effects.