A guide to functional methods beyond one-loop order

Abstract Functional methods can be applied to the quantum effective action to efficiently determine counterterms and matching conditions for effective field theories. We extend the toolbox to two-loop order and beyond and show how to evaluate the expansion of the path integral in a manifestly gauge-...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Javier Fuentes-Martín, Adrián Moreno-Sánchez, Ajdin Palavrić, Anders Eller Thomsen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SpringerOpen 2025-08-01
Series:Journal of High Energy Physics
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP08(2025)099
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Summary:Abstract Functional methods can be applied to the quantum effective action to efficiently determine counterterms and matching conditions for effective field theories. We extend the toolbox to two-loop order and beyond and show how to evaluate the expansion of the path integral in a manifestly gauge-covariant manner. We also generalize the method to theories with mixed spin statistics and prove the validity of the hard-region matching formula to all loop orders. The methods are exemplified with a two-loop matching calculation of the Euler–Heisenberg Lagrangian resulting from decoupling the electron in QED.
ISSN:1029-8479