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Generalized uncertainty principle: Massless QED renormalization

Ezequiel Valero1,2,*, Hector Gisbert1,†, and Victor Ilisie1,‡

  • *Contact author: ezequiel.valero@universidadeuropea.es
  • †Contact author: hector.gisbert@universidadeuropea.es
  • ‡Contact author: victor.ilisie@universidadeuropea.es
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Phys. Rev. D 114, 105007 – Published 5 November, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/6dvf-r8t1

Abstract

The effective-field-theory interpretation of generalized uncertainty principle (GUP) deformations does not by itself establish whether their tree-level operator content is closed under renormalization. We investigate this question in massless GUP-deformed quantum electrodynamics at one loop and to first order in the deformation parameter. We compute the ultraviolet divergences of the relevant Green’s functions and determine the counterterm structure. Our central result is that, after eliminating redundant operators, renormalization requires only one independent physical counterterm beyond those associated with the tree-level theory: an axial-axial four-fermion interaction. The original deformation therefore admits a minimal radiative completion at this order. We derive the leading logarithmic running of the induced Wilson coefficient and discuss its operator-level correspondence with the contact interaction arising in Einstein-Cartan gravity.

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Phys. Rev. D 114, 105007– Published 5 November, 2026
  • Received 25 September 2026
  • Accepted 8 October 2026
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI. Funded by SCOAP3.

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