Perturbation expansions at large order: results for scalar field theories revisited

The question of the asymptotic form of the perturbation expansion in scalar field theories is reconsidered. Renewed interest in the computation of terms in the epsilon-expansion, used to calculate critical exponents, has been frustrated by the differing and incompatible results for the high-order behaviour of the perturbation expansion reported in the literature. We identify the sources of the errors made in earlier papers, correct them, and obtain a consistent set of results. We focus on theory phi(4), since this has been the most studied and is the most widely used, but we also briefly discuss analogous results for phi(N) theory, with N > 4. This reexamination of the structure of perturbation expansions raises issues concerning the renormalisation of non-perturbative effects and the nature of the Feynman diagrams at large order, which we discuss.