On the Coupling of Gravitons to Matter

Using relationships between open and closed strings, we present a construction of tree-level scattering amplitudes for gravitons minimally coupled to matter in terms of gauge theory partial amplitudes. In particular, we present examples of amplitudes with gravitons coupled to vectors or to a single fermion pair. We also present two examples with massive graviton exchange, as would arise in the presence of large compact dimensions. The gauge charges are represented by flavors of dynamical scalars or fermions. This also leads to an unconventional decomposition of color and kinematics in gauge theories.Comment: RevTex, 4 page

Dual conformal constraints and infrared equations from global residue theorems in N=4 SYM theory

Infrared equations and dual conformal constraints arise as consistency conditions on loop amplitudes in N=4 super Yang-Mills theory. These conditions are linear relations between leading singularities, which can be computed in the Grassmannian formulation of N=4 super Yang-Mills theory proposed recently. Examples for infrared equations have been shown to be implied by global residue theorems in the Grassmannian picture. Both dual conformal constraints and infrared equations are mapped explicitly to global residue theorems for one-loop next-to-maximally-helicity-violating amplitudes. In addition, the identity relating the BCFW and its parity-conjugated form of tree-level amplitudes, is shown to emerge from a particular combination of global residue theorems.Comment: 21 page

New Relations for Gauge-Theory Amplitudes

We present an identity satisfied by the kinematic factors of diagrams describing the tree amplitudes of massless gauge theories. This identity is a kinematic analog of the Jacobi identity for color factors. Using this we find new relations between color-ordered partial amplitudes. We discuss applications to multi-loop calculations via the unitarity method. In particular, we illustrate the relations between different contributions to a two-loop four-point QCD amplitude. We also use this identity to reorganize gravity tree amplitudes diagram by diagram, offering new insight into the structure of the KLT relations between gauge and gravity tree amplitudes. This can be used to obtain novel relations similar to the KLT ones. We expect this to be helpful in higher-loop studies of the ultraviolet properties of gravity theories.Comment: 40 pages, 7 figures, RevTex, v2 minor correction

Three-Loop Superfiniteness of N=8 Supergravity

We construct the three-loop four-point amplitude of N=8 supergravity using the unitarity method. The amplitude is ultraviolet finite in four dimensions. Novel cancellations, not predicted by traditional superspace power-counting arguments, render its degree of divergence in D dimensions to be no worse than that of N=4 super-Yang-Mills theory -- a finite theory in four dimensions. Similar cancellations can be identified at all loop orders in certain unitarity cuts, suggesting that N=8 supergravity may be a perturbatively finite theory of quantum gravity.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures. In v2 references and minor clarifications adde

Note on Bonus Relations for N=8 Supergravity Tree Amplitudes

We study the application of non-trivial relations between gravity tree amplitudes, the bonus relations, to all tree-level amplitudes in N=8 supergravity. We show that the relations can be used to simplify explicit formulae of supergravity tree amplitudes, by reducing the known form as a sum of (n-2)! permutations obtained by solving on-shell recursion relations, to a new form as a (n-3)!-permutation sum. We demonstrate the simplification by explicit calculations of the next-to-maximally helicity violating (NMHV) and next-to-next-to-maximally helicity violating (N^2MHV) amplitudes, and provide a general pattern of bonus coefficients for all tree-level amplitudes.Comment: 21 pages, 9 figures; v2, minor changes, references adde

Associated Top Quark-Higgs Boson Production at the LHC

We compute the O(alpha_s^3) inclusive cross section for the process pp -> t-tbar-h in the Standard Model, at sqrt(s)=14 TeV. The next-to-leading order corrections drastically reduce the renormalization and factorization scale dependence of the Born cross section and increase the total cross section for renormalization and factorization scales larger than m_t. These corrections have important implications for models of new physics involving the top quark.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, RevTeX

Proof of Gravity and Yang-Mills Amplitude Relations

Using BCFW on-shell recursion techniques, we prove a sequence of explicit n-point Kawai-Lewellen-Tye relations between gravity and Yang-Mills amplitudes at tree level.Comment: 17 pages, no figures, JHE