Operator approach to analytical evaluation of Feynman diagrams

The operator approach to analytical evaluation of multi-loop Feynman diagrams is proposed. We show that the known analytical methods of evaluation of massless Feynman integrals, such as the integration by parts method and the method of "uniqueness" (which is based on the star-triangle relation), can be drastically simplified by using this operator approach. To demonstrate the advantages of the operator method of analytical evaluation of multi-loop Feynman diagrams, we calculate ladder diagrams for the massless $\phi^3$ theory (analytical results for these diagrams are expressed in terms of multiple polylogarithms). It is shown how operator formalism can be applied to calculation of certain massive Feynman diagrams and investigation of Lipatov integrable chain model.Comment: 16 pages. To appear in "Physics of Atomic Nuclei" (Proceedings of SYMPHYS-XII, Yerevan, Armenia, July 03-08, 2006

A (Bounded) Bestiary of Feynman Integral Calabi-Yau Geometries

We define the rigidity of a Feynman integral to be the smallest dimension over which it is non-polylogarithmic. We argue that massless Feynman integrals in four dimensions have a rigidity bounded by 2(L-1) at L loops, and we show that this bound may be saturated for integrals that we call marginal: those with (L+1)D/2 propagators in (even) D dimensions. We show that marginal Feynman integrals in D dimensions generically involve Calabi-Yau geometries, and we give examples of finite four-dimensional Feynman integrals in massless $\phi^4$ theory that saturate our predicted bound in rigidity at all loop orders.Comment: 5+2 pages, 11 figures, infinite zoo of Calabi-Yau manifolds. v2 reflects minor changes made for publication. This version is authoritativ