Fermion loop

A closed chain of Dirac propagators is a fermion loop. Its closed fermion loop sign distinguishes it from a bosonic loop. Tracing spinor indices produces gamma matrix traces, and the high-momentum powers of the propagators determine possible ultraviolet divergences.

Three scalar Yukawa interactions on a closed Dirac field loop give two cyclic orientations. Odd gamma matrix traces vanish, while $\mathrm{tr}({\gamma }^{\mu }{\gamma }^{\nu })=4g^{\mu \nu }$ gives the displayed numerator. For external invariant mass squares $M^2,{\mu }^2,{\mu }^2$, write $D_a=a^2-m^2$ and similarly for the other two lines. The numerator becomes $4m[D_a+D_b+D_c+4m^2-{\mu }^2-M^2/2]$, reducing the fermion loop to three scalar bubbles and a scalar triangle Feynman integral. The closed fermion loop sign must be included. A massive fermion produces a logarithmic local divergence.

For interactions $-G\bar{\psi }\psi \Phi -g\bar{\psi }\psi \varphi$, the two Yukawa fermion triangle orientations generate a local divergent three-scalar vertex proportional to $mG{g}^2$. In $d=4-2ϵ$, with $S-1=i\mathcal{M}$ convention, its loop pole is ${\mathcal{M}}_{\mathrm{div}}=-24mG{g}^2/(16{\pi }^2\overline{ϵ})$. A $\Phi {\varphi }^2$ counterterm cancels it. The finite renormalized coefficient is additional data, fixed by a renormalization condition. Declaring this cubic absent from the displayed bare interaction is not by itself a prescription for its loop-generated finite value.

Four scalar Yukawa interactions on a closed fermion loop generate a scalar four-point one-particle-irreducible vertex. At high momentum four dirac propagators contribute $k^{-4}$, leaving a logarithmic four-dimensional ultraviolet divergence. Its local scalar-fourth-power term requires a quartic scalar coupling; scalar mass and field counterterms cannot cancel it.

A closed fermion loop carries an additional minus sign from the odd Grassmann parity of the fields in the Wick theorem contraction expansion. Equivalently, integrating out Grassmann fields gives a determinant, whose logarithmic interaction expansion has the fermionic sign relative to a bosonic inverse determinant. This sign must be included in addition to propagator and vertex phases.