Improved effective potential in curved spacetime and quantum matter--higher derivative gravity theory

Journal Article · Wed Feb 15 04:00:00 EST 1995 · Physical Review, D (Particles Fields); (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.51.1680· OSTI ID:6578726

Elizalde, E ^[1]; Odintsov, S D ^[2]; Romeo, A ^[3]

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1. Center for Advanced Study CEAB, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, Cami de Santa Barbara, 17300 Blanes, Catalonia (Spain) Departament d'Estructura i Constituents de la Materia i Institut de Fisica d'Altes Energies, Faculty of Physics, University of Barcelona, Diagonal 647, 08028 Barcelona, Catalonia (Spain)
2. Departament d'Estructura i Constituents de la Materia i Institut de Fisica d'Altes Energies, Faculty of Physics, University of Barcelona, Diagonal 647, 08028 Barcelona, Catalonia (Spain)
3. Center for Advanced Study CEAB, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, Cami de Santa Barbara, 17300 Blanes, Catalonia (Spain)

We develop a general formalism to study the renormalization-group- (RG-)improved effective potential for renormalizable gauge theories, including matter-[ital R][sup 2]-gravity, in curved spacetime. The result is given up to quadratic terms in curvature, and one-loop effective potentials may be easily obtained from it. As an example, we consider scalar QED, where dimensional transmutation in curved space and the phase structure of the potential (in particular, curvature-induced phase transitions) are discussed. For scalar QED with higher-derivative quantum gravity (QG), we examine the influence of QG on dimensional transmutation and calculate QG corrections to the scalar-to-vector mass ratio. The phase structure of the RG-improved effective potential is also studied in this case, and the values of the induced Newton and cosmological coupling constants at the critical point are estimated. The stability of the running scalar coupling in the Yukawa theory with conformally invariant higher-derivative QG, and in the standard model with the same addition, is numerically analyzed. We show that, in these models, QG tends to make the scalar sector less unstable.

• OSTI ID: 6578726
• Journal Information: Physical Review, D (Particles Fields); (United States), Journal Name: Physical Review, D (Particles Fields); (United States) Vol. 51:4; ISSN PRVDAQ; ISSN 0556-2821
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

661310 -- Relativity & Gravitation-- (1992-)
662110* -- General Theory of Particles & Fields-- Theory of Fields & Strings-- (1992-)
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS
CONFORMAL INVARIANCE
CORRECTIONS
COSMOLOGICAL CONSTANT
COUPLING CONSTANTS
ELECTRODYNAMICS
FIELD THEORIES
INVARIANCE PRINCIPLES
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
MATHEMATICS
NUCLEAR POTENTIAL
NUMERICAL ANALYSIS
PARTICLE MODELS
PHASE STUDIES
POTENTIALS
QUANTUM ELECTRODYNAMICS
QUANTUM FIELD THEORY
QUANTUM GRAVITY
RENORMALIZATION
SCALAR FIELDS
SPACE-TIME
STABILITY
STANDARD MODEL
UNIFIED GAUGE MODELS
YUKAWA POTENTIAL