Remark on the subtractive renormalization of quadratically divergent scalar mass

Abstract

The quadratically divergent scalar mass is subtractively renormalized unlike other divergences which are multiplicatively renormalized. We re-examine some technical aspects of the subtractive renormalization, in particular, the mass independent renormalization of massive $\lambda\phi^{4}$ theory with higher derivative regularization. We then discuss an unconventional scheme to introduce the notion of renormalization point $\mu$ to the subtractive renormalization in a theory defined by a large fixed cut-off $M$. The resulting renormalization group equation generally becomes inhomogeneous but it is transformed to be homogeneous. The renormalized scalar mass consists of two components in this scheme, one with the ordinary anomalous dimension and the other which is proportional to the renormalization scale $\mu$. This scheme interpolates between the theory defined by dimensional regularization and the theory with un-subtracted quadratic divergences.