Scalar Quantum Field Theory on Fractals

Abstract

We construct a family of measures for random fields based on the iterated subdivision of simple geometric shapes (triangles, squares, tetrahedrons) into a finite number of similar shapes. The intent is to construct continuum limits of scale invariant scalar field theories, by imitating Wiener's construction of the measure on the space of functions of one variable. These are Gaussian measures, except for one example of a non-Gaussian fixed point for the Ising model on a fractal. In the continuum limits what we construct have correlation functions that vary as a power of distance. In most cases this is a positive power (as for the Wiener measure) but we also find a few examples with negative exponent. In all cases the exponent is an irrational number, which depends on the particular subdivision scheme used. This suggests that the continuum limits corresponds to quantum field theories (random fields) on spaces of fractional dimension.