Frédéric Patras

A Lie Theoretic Approach to Renormalization

Motivated by recent work of Connes and Marcolli, based on the Connes–Kreimer approach to renormalization, we augment the latter by a combinatorial, Lie algebraic point of view. Our results rely both on the properties of the Dynkin idempotent, one of the fundamental Lie idempotents in the theory of free Lie algebras, and on properties of Hopf algebras encapsulated in the notion of associated descent algebras. Besides leading very directly to proofs of the main combinatorial aspects of the renormalization procedures, the new techniques give rise to an algebraic approach to the Galois theory of renormalization. In particular, they do not depend on the geometry underlying the case of dimensional regularization and the Riemann–Hilbert correspondence. This is illustrated with a discussion of the BPHZ renormalization scheme.

Rota–Baxter Algebras and New Combinatorial Identities

The word problem for an arbitrary associative Rota–Baxter algebra is solved. This leads to a noncommutative generalization of the classical Spitzer identities. Links to other combinatorial aspects are indicated.

A NONCOMMUTATIVE BOHNENBLUST-SPITZER IDENTITY FOR ROTA-BAXTER ALGEBRAS SOLVES BOGOLIUBOV'S RECURSION

The Bogoliubov recursion is a particular procedure appearing in the process of renormalization in perturbative quantum field theory. It provides convergent expressions for otherwise divergent integrals. We develop here a theory of functional identities for noncommutative Rota-Baxter algebras which is shown to encode, among others, this process in the context of Connes-Kreimers Hopf algebra of renormalization. Our results generalize the seminal Cartier-Rota theory of classical Spitzer-type identities for commutative Rota-Baxter algebras. In the classical, commutative, case, these identities can be understood as deriving from the theory of symmetric functions. Here, we show that an analogous property holds for noncommutative Rota-Baxter algebras. That is, we show that functional identities in the noncommutative setting can be derived from the theory of noncommutative symmetric functions. Lie idempotents, and particularly the Dynkin idempotent play a crucial role in the process. Their action on the pro-unipotent groups such as those of perturbative renormalization is described in detail along the way.

Tree based functional expansions for Feynman-Kac particle models.

We design a theoretic tree-based functional representation of a class of Feynman-Kac particle distributions, including an extension of the Wick product formula to interacting particle systems. These weak expansions rely on an original combinatorial, and permutation group analysis of a special class of forests. They provide refined non asymptotic propagation of chaos type properties, as well as sharp Lp-mean error bounds, and laws of large numbers for U-statistics. Applications to particle interpretations of the top eigenvalues, and the ground states of Schrodinger semigroups are also discussed.

Lie Representations and an Algebra Containing Solomon's

We introduce and study a Hopf algebra containing the descent algebra as a sub-Hopf-algebra. It has the main algebraic properties of the descent algebra, and more: it is a sub-Hopf-algebra of the direct sum of the symmetric group algebras; it is closed under the corresponding inner product; it is cocommutative, so it is an enveloping algebra; it contains all Lie idempotents of the symmetric group algebras. Moreover, its primitive elements are exactly the Lie elements which lie in the symmetric group algebras.

Enveloping algebras of preLie algebras, Solomon idempotents and the Magnus formula

We study the internal structure of enveloping algebras of preLie algebras. We show in particular that the canonical projections arising from the Poincare–Birkhoff–Witt theorem can be computed explicitly. They happen to be closely related to the Magnus formula for matrix differential equations. Indeed, we show that the Magnus formula provides a way to compute the canonical projection on the preLie algebra. Conversely, our results provide new insights on classical problems in the theory of differential equations and on recent advances in their combinatorial understanding.

The Hopf algebra of identical, fermionic particle systems—Fundamental concepts and properties

The Hopf algebra structure of the fermionic Fock space is unravelled. The tools provided by the Hopf algebra formalism are used to rederive in a more straightforward fashion some known theorems and to open the way to natural generalizations of these results. The algebraic concepts of rank, depth and length of a wave function are given. They allow one to cast a wave function into a canonical form that is simpler and more appropriate to a physical interpretation or a numerical treatment. An original algorithm to re-expand a wave function with the least possible number of spin orbitals is described.

Natural endomorphisms of shuffle algebras

We focus in this text on the adaptation to the study of shuffles of the main combinatorial tool in the theory of free Lie algebras, namely the existence of a universal algebra of endomorphisms for tensor and other cocommutative Hopf algebras: the family of Solomons descent algebras of type A. We show that there exists similarly a natural endomorphism algebra for commutative shuffle algebras, which is a natural extension of the Malvenuto-Reutenauer Hopf algebra of permutations, or algebra of free quasi-symmetric functions. We study this new algebra for its own, establish freeness properties, study its generators, bases, and also feature its relations to the internal structure of shuffle algebras.

The Splitting Process in Free Probability Theory

Free cumulants were introduced by Speicher as a proper analog of classical cumulants in Voiculescus theory of free probability. The relation between free moments and free cumulants is usually described in terms of Moebius calculus over the lattice of non-crossing partitions. In this work we explore another approach to free cumulants and to their combinatorial study using a combinatorial Hopf algebra structure on the linear span of non-crossing partitions. The generating series of free moments is seen as a character on this Hopf algebra. It is characterized by solving a linear fixed point equation that relates it to the generating series of free cumulants. These phenomena are explained through a process similar to (though different from) the arborification process familiar in the theory of dynamical systems, and originating in Cayleys work.

Time-ordering and a generalized Magnus expansion

Both the classical time-ordering and the Magnus expansion are well known in the context of linear initial value problems. Motivated by the noncommutativity between time-ordering and time derivation, and related problems raised recently in statistical physics, we introduce a generalization of the Magnus expansion. Whereas the classical expansion computes the logarithm of the evolution operator of a linear differential equation, our generalization addresses the same problem, including, however, directly a non-trivial initial condition. As a by-product we recover a variant of the time-ordering operation, known as