SUMMING RADIATIVE CORRECTIONS TO THE EFFECTIVE POTENTIAL

Abstract

When one uses the Coleman–Weinberg renormalization condition, the effective potential V in the massless [Formula: see text] theory with O(N) symmetry is completely determined by the renormalization group functions. It has been shown how the (p + 1) order renormalization group function determine the sum of all the N p LL order contribution to V to all orders in the loop expansion. We discuss here how, in addition to fixing the N p LL contribution to V, the (p + 1) order renormalization group functions can also be used to determine portions of the N p+n LL contributions to V. When these contributions are summed to all orders, the singularity structure of V is altered. An alternate rearrangement of the contributions to V in powers of ln ϕ, when the extremum condition V′(ϕ = v) = 0 is combined with the renormalization group equation, show that either v = 0 or V is independent of ϕ. This conclusion is supported by showing the LL , …, N 4 LL contributions to V become progressively less dependent on ϕ.