arXiv subjects

Bertrand Delamotte

Publications and source records attributed to Bertrand Delamotte.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Mass generation at a fixed point: A Functional Renormalization Group Study of the tricritical O($N$) model in $d=3$ and $N=\infty$

Renormalization group (RG) fixed points are commonly associated with scale invariance and a divergent correlation length. We show that this connection can fail in the tricritical $O(N)$ model in three dimensions in the limit $N\to\infty$. Revisiting the line of fixed points identified by Bardeen, Moshe, and Bander, we use the functional renormalization group to clarify the mechanism leading to mass generation at its singular endpoint (the BMB fixed point). We demonstrate that the generated mass is nonuniversal and originates from the nonanalytic structure of the effective potential. We show that the critical exponent $ν$ which takes the value $ν= 1/2$ along the regular part of the BMB line, that is, for $0 \leq λ< λ_{\rm BMB}$, jumps to $ν= 1/3$ on the singular part of this line with the BMB FP, corresponding to $λ= λ_{\rm BMB}$, being the pivotal point between these two regimes. We also show how its singular potential emerges dynamically along the renormalization flow.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2026

Supersymmetry Without Time-Reversal Invariance in Model A: A FRG perspective

We show that, contrary to common belief, supersymmetry alone is not sufficient in Model A dynamics to ensure relaxation toward a stationary state satisfying time-reversal invariance (TRI). An additional condition on top of supersymmetry is required for TRI, which we analyze in detail. We explicitly construct a model that is supersymmetric but violates TRI, and argue that, at least perturbatively, TRI nevertheless emerges as an effective large-scale symmetry. Using the functional renormalization group (FRG), we further show that the dynamical effective action, $Γ[φ,\tildeφ]$, contains the derivative of the equilibrium effective action, $Γ^{\mathrm{eq}}[φ]$, whose renormalization-group flow is identical to that of the equilibrium theory order by order in the derivative expansion. Finally, extending the same line of reasoning, we show that the probability distribution of the total magnetization in the Ising model can be recovered within the Model A framework.

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arXiv2025

Universal and non-universal large deviations in critical systems

Rare events play a crucial role in understanding complex systems. Characterizing and analyzing them in scale-invariant situations is challenging due to strong correlations. In this work, we focus on characterizing the tails of probability distribution functions (PDFs) for these systems. Using a variety of methods, perturbation theory, functional renormalization group, hierarchical models, large $n$ limit, and Monte Carlo simulations, we investigate universal rare events of critical $O(n)$ systems. Additionally, we explore the crossover from universal to nonuniversal behavior in PDF tails, extending Cramér's series to strongly correlated variables. Our findings highlight the universal and nonuniversal aspects of rare event statistics and challenge existing assumptions about power-law corrections to the leading stretched exponential decay in these tails.

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arXiv2025

Generalization of the Central Limit Theorem to Critical Systems: Revisiting Perturbation Theory

The Central Limit Theorem does not hold for strongly correlated stochastic variables, as is the case for statistical systems close to criticality. Recently, the calculation of the probability distribution function (PDF) of the magnetization mode has been performed with the functional renormalization group in the case of the three-dimensional Ising model [Balog et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 129}, 210602 (2022)]. It has been shown in that article that there exists an entire family of universal PDFs parameterized by $ζ=\lim_{L,ξ_\infty\rightarrow\infty} L/ξ_\infty$ which is the ratio of the system size $L$ to the bulk correlation length $ξ_{\infty}$ with both the thermodynamic limit and the critical limit being taken simultaneously. We show how these PDFs or, equivalently, the rate functions which are their logarithm, can be systematically computed perturbatively in the $ε=4-d$ expansion. We determine the whole family of universal PDFs and show that they are in good qualitative agreement with Monte Carlo data. Finally, we conjecture on how to significantly improve the quantitative agreement between the one-loop and the numerical results.

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arXiv2025

Probability distributions of the order parameter of the $O(N)$ model

We study the probability distribution function (PDF) of the order parameter of the three-dimensional $O(N)$ model at criticality using the functional renormalisation group. For this purpose, we generalize the method introduced in [Balog et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 129}, 210602 (2022)] to the $O(N)$ model. We study the large $N$ limit, as well as the cases $N=2$ and $N=3$ at the level of the Local Potential Approximation (LPA), and compare our results to Monte Carlo simulations. We compute the entire family of universal scaling functions, obtained in the limit where the system size $L$ and the correlation length of the infinite system $ξ_\infty$ diverge, with the ratio $ζ=L/ξ_\infty$ constant. We also generalize our results to the approach of criticality from the low-temperature phase where another infinite family of universal PDF exists. We find that the LPA describes very well the functional form of the family of PDFs, once we correct for a global amplitude of the (logarithm of the) PDF and of $ζ$.

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arXiv2025

Global fixed point potential approach to frustrated antiferromagnets

We revisit the critical behavior of classical frustrated systems using the nonperturbative renormalization group (NPRG) equation. Our study is performed within the local potential approximation of this equation to which is added the flow of the field renormalization. Our flow equations are functional to avoid possible artifacts coming from the field expansion of the fixed point potential which consists in keeping only a limited number of coupling constants. We explain in detail our numerical implementation, its advantages and the difficulties encountered in the vicinity of $d=2$. For $N$-component spins, the function $N_c(d)$ separating the regions of first and second order transitions in the $(d,N)$ plane is computed for $d$ between 4 and 2.3. Our results confirm what was previously found with cruder approximations of the NPRG equation and contradict both the fixed dimension perturbative approach and some of the results obtained within the conformal bootstrap approach.

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arXiv2024

$O(N)\times O(2)$ scalar models: including $\mathcal{O}(\partial^2)$ corrections in the Functional Renormalization Group analysis

The study of phase transitions in frustrated magnetic systems with $O(N)\times O(2)$ symmetry has been the subject of controversy for more than twenty years, with theoretical, numerical and experimental results in disagreement. Even theoretical studies lead to different results, with some predicting a first-order phase transition while others find it to be second-order. Recently, a series of results from both numerical simulations and theoretical analyses, in particular those based on the Conformal Bootstrap, have rekindled interest in this controversy, especially as they are still not in agreement with each other. Studies based on the functional renormalization group have played a major role in this controversy in the past, and we revisit these studies, taking them a step further by adding non-trivial second order derivative terms to the derivative expansion of the effective action. We confirm the first-order nature of the phase transition for physical values of $N$, i.e. for $N=2$ and $N=3$ in agreement with the latest results obtained with the Conformal Bootstrap. We also study an other phase of the $O(N)\times O(2)$ models, called the sinusoidal phase, qualitatively confirming earlier perturbative results.

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arXiv2024

Conformal invariance and composite operators: A strategy for improving the derivative expansion of the nonperturbative renormalization group

It is expected that conformal symmetry is an emergent property of many systems at their critical point. This imposes strong constraints on the critical behavior of a given system. Taking them into account in theoretical approaches can lead to a better understanding of the critical physics or improve approximation schemes. However, within the framework of the non-perturbative or functional renormalization group and, in particular, of one of its most used approximation schemes, the Derivative Expansion (DE), non-trivial constraints only apply from third order (usually denoted $\mathcal{O}(\partial^4)$), at least in the usual formulation of the DE that includes correlation functions involving only the order parameter. In this work, we implement conformal constraints on a generalized DE including composite operators and show that new constraints already appear at second order of the DE (or $\mathcal{O}(\partial^2)$). We show how these constraints can be used to fix nonphysical regulator parameters.

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arXiv2023

The $q-$state Potts model from the Nonperturbative Renormalization Group

We study the $q$-state Potts model for $q$ and the space dimension $d$ arbitrary real numbers using the Derivative Expansion of the Nonperturbative Renormalization Group at its leading order, the local potential approximation (LPA and LPA'). We determine the curve $q_c(d)$ separating the first ($q>q_c(d)$) and second ($q<q_c(d)$) order phase transition regions for $2.8<d\leq 4$. At small $ε=4-d$ and $δ=q-2$ the calculation is performed in a double expansion in these parameters and we find $q_c(d)=2+a ε^2$ with $a\simeq 0.1$. For finite values of $ε$ and $δ$, we obtain this curve by integrating the LPA and LPA' flow equations. We find that $q_c(d=3)=2.11(7)$ which confirms that the transition is of first order in $d=3$ for the three-state Potts model.

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arXiv2023

Interface roughening in nonequilibrium phase-separated systems

Interfaces of phase-separated systems roughen in time due to capillary waves. Because of fluxes in the bulk, their dynamics is nonlocal in real space and is not described by the Edwards-Wilkinson or Kardar-Parisi-Zhang (KPZ) equations, nor their conserved counterparts. We show that in the absence of detailed balance, the phase-separated interface is described by a new universality class that we term |q|KPZ. We compute the associated critical exponents via one-loop renormalization group, and corroborate the results by numerical integration of the |q|KPZ equation. Deriving the effective interface dynamics from a minimal field theory of active phase separation, we finally argue that the |q|KPZ universality class generically describes liquid-vapor interfaces in active systems.

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arXiv2023

A fixed point can hide another one: the nonperturbative behavior of the tetracritical fixed point of the O($N$) models at large $N$

We show that at $N=\infty$ and below its upper critical dimension, $d<d_{\rm up}$, the critical and tetracritical behaviors of the O($N$) models are associated with the same renormalization group fixed point (FP) potential. Only their derivatives make them different with the subtleties that taking their $N\to\infty$ limit and deriving them do not commute and that two relevant eigenperturbations show singularities. This invalidates both the $ε-$ and the $1/N-$ expansions. We also show how the Bardeen-Moshe-Bander line of tetracritical FPs at $N=\infty$ and $d=d_{\rm up}$ can be understood from a finite-$N$ analysis.

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arXiv2022

Incompleteness of the large-$N$ analysis of the $O(N)$ models: Nonperturbative cuspy fixed points and their nontrivial homotopy at finite $N$

We summarize the usual implementations of the large $N$ limit of $O(N)$ models and show in detail why and how they can miss some physically important fixed points when they become singular in the limit $N\to\infty$. Using Wilson's renormalization group in its functional nonperturbative versions, we show how the singularities build up as $N$ increases. In the Wilson-Polchinski version of the nonperturbative renormalization group, we show that the singularities are cusps, which become boundary layers for finite but large values of $N$. The corresponding fixed points being never close to the Gaussian, are out of reach of the usual perturbative approaches. We find four new fixed points and study them in all dimensions and for all $N>0$ and show that they play an important role for the tricritical physics of $O(N)$ models. Finally, we show that some of these fixed points are bi-valued when they are considered as functions of $d$ and $N$ thus revealing important and nontrivial homotopy structures. The Bardeen-Moshe-Bander phenomenon that occurs at $N=\infty$ and $d=3$ is shown to play a crucial role for the internal consistency of all our results.

hep-th↗

arXiv2020

The finite $N$ origin of the Bardeen-Moshe-Bander phenomenon and its extension at $N=\infty$ by singular fixed points

We study the $O(N)$ model in dimension three (3$d$) at large and infinite $N$ and show that the line of fixed points found at $N=\infty$ --the Bardeen-Moshe-Bander (BMB) line-- has an intriguing origin at finite $N$. The large $N$ limit that allows us to find the BMB line must be taken on particular trajectories in the $(d,N)$-plane: $d=3-α/N$ and not at fixed dimension $d=3$. Our study also reveals that the known BMB line is only half of the true line of fixed points, the second half being made of singular fixed points. The potentials of these singular fixed points show a cusp for a finite value of the field and their finite $N$ counterparts a boundary layer.

hep-th↗

arXiv2019

Convergence of Non-Perturbative Approximations to the Renormalization Group

We provide analytical arguments showing that the non-perturbative approximation scheme to Wilson's renormalisation group known as the derivative expansion has a finite radius of convergence. We also provide guidelines for choosing the regulator function at the heart of the procedure and propose empirical rules for selecting an optimal one, without prior knowledge of the problem at stake. Using the Ising model in three dimensions as a testing ground and the derivative expansion at order six, we find fast convergence of critical exponents to their exact values, irrespective of the well-behaved regulator used, in full agreement with our general arguments. We hope these findings will put an end to disputes regarding this type of non-perturbative methods.

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arXiv2018

Why Might the Standard Large $N$ Analysis Fail in the O($N$) Model: The Role of Cusps in the Fixed Point Potentials

The large $N$ expansion plays a fundamental role in quantum and statistical field theory. We show on the example of the O$(N)$ model that at $N=\infty$, its traditional implementation misses in all dimensions below four some fixed points of the renormalization group. These new fixed points show singularities at $N=\infty$ in their effective potential that become a boundary layer at finite $N$. We show that they have a physical impact on the multicritcal physics of the $O(N$) model at finite $N$. We also show that the mechanism at play holds also for the O($N$)$\otimes$O(2) model and is thus probably generic.

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arXiv2018

Comment on "A structural test for the conformal invariance of the critical 3d Ising model" by S. Meneses, S. Rychkov, J. M. Viana Parente Lopes and P. Yvernay. arXiv:1802.02319

In a recent preprint [ArXiv 1802.02319], Meneses et al. challenge our proof that scale invariance implies conformal invariance for the three-dimensional Ising model [B. Delamotte, M. Tissier and N. Wschebor, Phys. Rev. E 93 (2016), 012144.]. We refute their arguments. We also point out a mistake in their one-loop calculation of the dimension of the vector operator $V_μ$ of lowest dimension which is not a total derivative.

hep-th↗

arXiv2017

Surprises in the $O(N)$ models: nonperturbative fixed points, large $N$ limit and multi-criticality

We find that the multicritical fixed point structure of the O($N$) models is much more complicated than widely believed. In particular, we find new nonperturbative fixed points in three dimensions ($d=3$) as well as at $N=\infty$. These fixed points come together with an intricate double-valued structure when they are considered as functions of $d$ and $N$. Many features found for the O($N$) models are shared by the O($N)\otimes$O(2) models relevant to frustrated magnetic systems.

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arXiv2017

Non-universality in the erosion of tilted landscapes

The anisotropic model for landscapes erosion proposed by Pastor-Satorras and Rothman in [R. Pastor-Satorras and D. H. Rothman, Phys. Rev. Lett. 80, 4349 (1998)] is believed to capture the physics of erosion at intermediate length scale ($\lesssim3$ km), and to account for the large value of the roughness exponent $α$ observed in real data at this scale. Our study of this model -- conducted using the nonperturbative renormalization group (NPRG) -- concludes on the nonuniversality of this exponent because of the existence of a line of fixed points. Thus the roughness exponent depends (weakly) on the details of the soil and the erosion mechanisms. We conjecture that this feature, while preserving the generic scaling observed in real data, could explain the wide spectrum of values of $α$ measured for natural landscapes.

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