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Article

Quantum Anomalies as Intrinsic Algebraic Curvature: A Unified AQFT Interpretation of Renormalization Ambiguities

by
Andrei T. Patrascu
FAST Foundation, Destin, FL 32541, USA
Quantum Rep. 2026, 8(1), 3; https://doi.org/10.3390/quantum8010003
Submission received: 10 December 2025 / Revised: 28 December 2025 / Accepted: 1 January 2026 / Published: 7 January 2026

Abstract

Quantum anomalies are traditionally understood as classical symmetries that fail to survive quantization, while experimental “anomalies” denote deviations between theoretical predictions and measured values. In this work, we develop a unified framework in which both phenomena can be interpreted through the lens of algebraic quantum field theory (AQFT). Building on the renormalization group viewed as an extension problem, we show that renormalization ambiguities correspond to nontrivial elements of Hochschild cohomology, giving rise to a deformation of the observable algebra A*B=AB+εω(A,B), where ω is a Hochschild 2-cocycle. We interpret ω as an intrinsic algebraic curvature of the net of local algebras, namely the (local) Hochschild class that measures the obstruction to trivializing infinitesimal scheme changes by inner redefinitions under locality and covariance constraints. The transported product is associative; its first-order expansion is associative up to O(ε2) while preserving the *-structure and Ward identities to the first order. We prove the existence of nontrivial cocycles in the perturbative AQFT setting, derive the conditions under which the deformed product respects positivity and locality, and establish the compatibility with current conservation. The construction provides a direct algebraic bridge to standard cohomological anomalies (chiral, trace, and gravitational) and yields correlated deformations of physical amplitudes. Fixing the small deformation parameter ε from the muon (g2) discrepancy, we propagate the framework to predictions for the electron (g2), charged lepton EDMs, and other low-energy observables. This approach reduces reliance on ad hoc form-factor parametrizations by organizing first-order scheme-induced deformations into correlation laws among low-energy observables. We argue that interpreting quantum anomalies as manifestations of algebraic curvature opens a pathway to a unified, testable account of renormalization ambiguities and their phenomenological consequences. We emphasize that the framework does not eliminate renormalization or quantum anomalies; rather, it repackages the finite renormalization freedom of pAQFT into cohomological data and relates it functorially to standard anomaly classes.
Keywords: algebraic quantum field theory; Hochschild cohomology; renormalization group; quantum anomalies; lepton g-2 algebraic quantum field theory; Hochschild cohomology; renormalization group; quantum anomalies; lepton g-2

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MDPI and ACS Style

Patrascu, A.T. Quantum Anomalies as Intrinsic Algebraic Curvature: A Unified AQFT Interpretation of Renormalization Ambiguities. Quantum Rep. 2026, 8, 3. https://doi.org/10.3390/quantum8010003

AMA Style

Patrascu AT. Quantum Anomalies as Intrinsic Algebraic Curvature: A Unified AQFT Interpretation of Renormalization Ambiguities. Quantum Reports. 2026; 8(1):3. https://doi.org/10.3390/quantum8010003

Chicago/Turabian Style

Patrascu, Andrei T. 2026. "Quantum Anomalies as Intrinsic Algebraic Curvature: A Unified AQFT Interpretation of Renormalization Ambiguities" Quantum Reports 8, no. 1: 3. https://doi.org/10.3390/quantum8010003

APA Style

Patrascu, A. T. (2026). Quantum Anomalies as Intrinsic Algebraic Curvature: A Unified AQFT Interpretation of Renormalization Ambiguities. Quantum Reports, 8(1), 3. https://doi.org/10.3390/quantum8010003

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