A. Connes et D. Kreimer, Renormalization in quantum field theory and the Riemann-Hilbert problem I:The Hopf algebra structure of graphs and the main theorem, COMM MATH P, 210(1), 2000, pp. 249-273
This paper gives a complete selfcontained proof of our result announced in
[6] showing that renormalization in quantum field theory is a special insta
nce of a general mathematical procedure of extraction of finite values base
d on the Riemann-Hilbert problem. We shall first show that for any quantum
field theory, the combinatorics of Feynman graphs gives rise to a Hopf alge
bra H which is commutative as an algebra. It is the dual Hopf algebra of th
e enveloping algebra of a Lie algebra G whose basis is labelled by the one
particle irreducible Feynman graphs. The Lie bracket of two such graphs is
computed from insertions of one graph in the other and vice versa. The corr
esponding Lie group G is the group of characters of H. We shall then show t
hat, using dimensional regularization, the bare (unrenormalized) theory giv
es rise to a loop
gamma(z) epsilon G, z epsilon C,
where C is a small circle of complex dimensions around the integer dimensio
n D of space-time. Our main result is that the renormalized theory is just
the evaluation at z = D of the holomorphic part gamma(+) of the Birkhoff de
composition of gamma. We begin to analyse the group G and show that it is a
semi-direct product of an easily understood abelian group by a highly non-
trivial group closely tied up with groups of diffeomorphisms.. The analysis
of this latter group as well as the interpretation of the renormalization
group and of anomalous dimensions are the content of our second paper with
the same overall title.