According to Lipatov [Sov. Phys. JETP 45, 216 (1997)], the high orders of perturbation theory are determined by saddle-point configurations, i.e., instantons, which correspond to functional integrals. According to another opinion, the contributions of individual large diagrams, i.e., renormalons, which according to t'Hooft [The Whys of Subnuclear Physics: Proceedings of the 1977 International School of Subnuclear Physics (Erice, Trapani, Sicily, 1977), A. Zichichi (Ed.), Plenum Press, New York (1979)], are not contained in the Lipatov contribution, are also significant. The history of the conception of renormalons is presented, and the arguments in favor of and against their existence are discussed. The analytic properties of the Borel transforms of functional integrals, Green's functions, vertex parts, and scaling functions are investigated in the case of #phi#~4 theory. Their analyticity in a complex plane with a cut from the first instanton singularity to infinity (the Le Guillou-Zinn-Justin hypothesis [Phys. Rev. Lett. 39, 95 (1977); Phys. Rev. B 21, 3976 (1980)] is proved. It rules out the existence of the renormalon singularities pointed out by t'Hooft and demonstrates the nonconstructiveness of the conception of renormalons as a whole. The results can be interpreted as an indication of the internal consistency of #phi#~4 theory.
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