Microlocal Analysis and Renormalization in Finite Temperature Field Theory

D. H. T. Franco, J. L. Acebal

Published 2003-06-18, updated 2006-08-22Version 2

We reassess the problem of renormalization in finite temperature field theory (FTFT). A new point of view elucidates the relation between the ultraviolet divergences for T=0 and $T \not= 0$ theories and makes clear the reason why the ultraviolet behavior keeps unaffected when we consider the FTFT version associated to a given quantum field theory (QFT). The strength of the derivation one lies on the H\"ormander's criterion for the existence of products of distributions in terms of the wavefront sets of the respective distributions. The approach allows us to regard the FTFT both imaginary and real time formalism at once in a unified way in the contour ordered formalism.