Quantum field theory and renormalization \`a la St\"uckelberg-Petermann-Epstein-Glaser

Abstract

The problem of renormalization in perturbative quantum field theory (pQFT) can be described in a rigorous way through the theory of extension of distributions. In the framework of pQFT a certain type of distribution appears, given by products of Green functions which act by integration with a test function. They present ultraviolet divergences, whenever any pair of arguments coincide on one point of spacetime, and therefore, they are not defined everywhere. In this work we have studied the necessary and sufficient conditions for the extension (or regularization) of this type of distribution. Moreover, we have constructed such extensions explicitly, satisfying a series of physically relevant axioms, such as the axiom of causality.