On the interplay between boundary conditions and the Lorentzian Wetterich equation

Abstract

In the framework of the functional renormalization group and of the perturbative, algebraic approach to quantum field theory (pAQFT), in D’Angelo et al. [Ann. Henri Poinc. 25 (2024) 2295–2352] it has been derived a Lorentzian version of a flow equation à la Wetterich, which can be used to study nonlinear, quantum scalar field theories on a globally hyperbolic spacetime. In this work, we show that the realm of validity of this result can be extended to study interacting scalar field theories on globally hyperbolic manifolds with a timelike boundary. By considering the specific examples of half-Minkowski spacetime and of the Poincaré patch of Anti-de Sitter, we show that the form of the Lorentzian Wetterich equation is strongly dependent on the boundary conditions assigned to the underlying field theory. In addition, using a numerical approach, we are able to provide strong evidences that there is a qualitative and not only a quantitative difference in the associated flow and we highlight this feature by considering Dirichlet and Neumann boundary conditions on half-Minkowski spacetime.