Critical dimension of a monomial scalar interaction
ID: critical-dimension-of-a-monomial-scalar-interaction
With a canonical kinetic term, a real scalar field has mass dimension . A coupling constant multiplying therefore has mass dimension . For , it is dimensionless precisely at , giving six for a cubic interaction and four for a quartic interaction. This is a power counting statement about perturbation theory, not a claim that the corresponding quantum beta function vanishes.
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