Application of a numerical renormalization group procedure to an elementary anharmonic oscillator

Abstract

The canonical quantum Hamiltonian eigenvalue problem for an anharmonic oscillator with a Lagrangian L = \dot{\phi}^2/2 - m^2 \phi^2/2 - g m^3 \phi^4 is numerically solved in two ways. One of the ways uses a plain cutoff on the number of basis states and the other employs a renormalization group procedure. The latter yields superior results to the former because it allows one to calculate the effective Hamiltonians. Matrices of effective Hamiltonians are quite small in comparison to the initial cutoff but nevertheless yield accurate eigenvalues thanks to the fact that just eight of their highest-energy matrix elements are proper functions of the small effective cutoff. We explain how these cutoff-dependent matrix elements emerge from the structure of the Hamiltonian and the renormalization group recursion, and we show that such small number of cutoff-dependent terms is sufficient to renormalize any band-diagonal Hamiltonian.