Highly Accurate Critical Exponents from Self-Similar Variational Perturbation Theory

Abstract

We extend field theoretic variational perturbation theory by self-similar approximation theory, which greatly accelerates convergence. This is illustrated by re-calculating the critical exponents of O(N)-symmetric $\vp^4$ theory. From only three-loop perturbation expansions in $4- ε$ dimensions we obtain {\em analytic results for the exponents, with practically the same accuracy as those derived recently from ordinary field-theoretic variational perturbational theory to seventh order. In particular, the theory explains the best-measured exponent $\al\approx-0.0127$ of the specific heat peak in superfluid helium, found in a satellite experiment with a temperature resolution of nanoKelvin. In addition, our analytic expressions reproduce also the exactly known large-N behaviour of the exponents $ ν$ and $ γ= ν(2- η) $ with high precision.