Dimensional Transmutation and Dimensional Regularization in Quantum Mechanics

Abstract

A thorough analysis is presented of the class of central fields of force that exhibit: (i) dimensional transmutation and (ii) rotational invariance. Using dimensional regularization, the two-dimensional delta-function potential an d the D-dimensional inverse square potential are studied. In particular, the following features are analyzed: the existence of a critical coupling, the boundary condition at the origin, the relationship between the bound-state and scattering sectors, and the similarities displayed by both potentials. It is found that, for rotationally symmetric scale-invariant potentials, there is a strong-coupling regime, for which quantum-mechanical breaking of symmetry takes place, with the appearance of a unique bound state as well as of a logarithmic energy dependence of the scattering with respect to the energy.