 Quantum effective potential

The quantum effective potential is the derivative-free part of the quantum effective action evaluated on a spatially constant background. The displayed sign uses $\Gamma =-W+\int J\phi$ for $Z=e^{iW}$ and the source term $+J\varphi$; the opposite effective-action convention gives $-\int V_{\mathrm{eff}}$. Its derivatives give zero-momentum one-particle-irreducible vertices. The value depends on a renormalization scheme and scale; an arbitrary additive vacuum-energy constant may be fixed separately.