We study unitarity and renormalizability in the Lifshitz scalar field theory, which is characterized by an anisotropic scaling between the space and time directions. Without the Lorentz symmetry, both the unitarity and the renormalizability conditions are modified from those in relativistic theories. We show that for renormalizability, an extended version of the power counting condition is required in addition to the conventional one. The unitarity bound for S-matrix elements also gives stronger constraints on interaction terms because of the reference frame dependence of scattering amplitudes. We prove that both unitarity and renormalizability require identical conditions as in the case of conventional relativistic theories.

We study the renormalizability in theories of a self-interacting Lifshitz scalar field.We show that although the statement of power-counting is true at one-loop order, in generic cases where the scalar field is dimensionless, an infinite number of counter terms are involved in the renormalization procedure. This problem can be avoided by imposing symmetries, the shift symmetry in the present paper, which allow only a finite number of counter terms to appear. The symmetry requirements might have important implications for the construction of matter field sectors in the Hořava-Lifshitz gravity.

We investigate the relation between the S-matrix unitarity (SS † = 1) and the renormalizability, in theories with negative norm states. The relation has been confirmed in many theories, such as gauge theories, Einstein gravity and Lifshitz-type non-relativistic theories by analyzing the unitarity bound, which follows from the S-matrix unitarity and the norm positivity. On the other hand, renormalizable theories with a higher derivative kinetic term do not necessarily satisfy the unitarity bound essentially because the unitarity bound does not hold due to the negative norm states. In these theories, it is not clear if the S-matrix unitarity provides a nontrivial constraint related to the renormalizability. In this paper we introduce scalar field models with a higher derivative kinetic term and analyze the S-matrix unitarity. We have positive results of the relation.

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