Past exam of the advanced quantum field theory for particle physics course of the University of Oxford / 2017 / 1 / d / Solution

Apply the dimensionally regulated tadpole integral before removing the infrared regulator:At fixed regulator $0<\mathrm{Re}ϵ<2$ away from gamma-function poles, the power of $m_{\gamma }^2$ has positive real part. ConsequentlyBoth the correctly weighted tadpole and the source's doubled version vanish. This is the near-four-dimensional limit appropriate to the question; the order of limits is important. Equivalently the exactly massless tadpole is a scaleless integral and is zero in dimensional regularization. The statement is not valid for every arbitrary fixed dimension: for example, $ϵ=5/2$ gives a nonzero prefactor and growth as $m_{\gamma }^{-1/2}$. One must keep the regulator in its stated near-four-dimensional domain.