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Abstract
We derive a general formula for the RG improved effective (Coleman-Weinberg) potential
for classically conformal models, applying it to several examples of physical interest,
and in particular a model of QCD coupled via quarks to a colorless scalar field. The
closed form expressions allow us to discuss the range of validity of the effective
potential as well as the issue of `large logarithms' in a way different from previous
such analyses. Remarkably, in all examples considered, convexity of the effective
potential is restored by the RG improvement, or otherwise the potential becomes unstable.
In the former case, symmetry breaking becomes unavoidable due to the appearance of
an infrared barrier \(\Lambda_{IR}\), which hints at a so far unsuspected link between
\(\Lambda_{QCD}\) and the scale of electroweak symmetry breaking.