Normalized vacuum generating functional ($\hat{Z}[J]=Z[J]/Z[0]$)

For a vacuum generating functional $Z[J]$, normalization gives $\hat{Z}[J]=Z[J]/Z[0]$ and $\hat{Z}[0]=1$. Functional derivatives of $\hat{Z}$ give normalized vacuum expectation values. The linked-cluster theorem shows that this ratio cancels Vacuum Feynman diagrams, while $-i\log \hat{Z}[J]$ gives connected correlators. Components attached to external insertions are not removed merely by the normalization.

A translation-invariant connected generating functional with a constant external source is extensive in spacetime volume ${\mathcal{V}}_d$. Its total logarithm is dimensionless, while its density has mass dimension $d$. Consequently its dimensionless representation at fixed physical volume must retain ${\mu }^d{\mathcal{V}}_d$. For a free massive scalar with source coupling ${\mu }^{-ϵ/2}h\varphi$, completing the square gives $F={\mathcal{V}}_d{\mu }^{-ϵ}{h}^2/(2m^2)$. This already disproves a literal rewriting of the full uniform-source logarithm using only $\lambda ,m^2/{\mu }^2,h/{\mu }^3$ at fixed volume. In infinite volume the total functional is generally infinite; use the density, a source of compact support, or an explicit volume regulator. After writing the density as ${\mu }^{d}f$, its renormalization group equation has the engineering term $+df$. Ultraviolet subtraction alone does not establish infrared finiteness for a massless constant source.

Completing the square in $S[q]=\frac{1}{2}qKq+Jq$ with $K=-{\partial }_t^2-m^2+iϵ$ gives the displayed source factor, where $G=K^{-1}$. In the frequency convention $e^{i\omega t}$, $\tilde{G}=({\omega }^2-m^2+iϵ{)}^{-1}$ and $G(t)=-i{e}^{-im|t|}/(2m)$ for $m>0$. The physical time-ordered oscillator quantum field theory propagator is $iG$. Sources are first taken as test functions so the pairings are defined.