Unitarity Cuts with Massive Propagators and Algebraic Expressions for Coefficients

In the first part of this paper, we extend the d-dimensional unitarity cut method of hep-ph/0609191 to cases with massive propagators. We present formulas for integral reduction with which one can obtain coefficients of all pentagon, box, triangle and massive bubble integrals. In the second part of this paper, we present a detailed study of the phase space integration for unitarity cuts. We carry out spinor integration in generality and give algebraic expressions for coefficients, intended for automated evaluation.Comment: 33 pages. v2: notation modified. v3: typos fixe

On the Numerical Evaluation of One-Loop Amplitudes: the Gluonic Case

We develop an algorithm of polynomial complexity for evaluating one-loop amplitudes with an arbitrary number of external particles. The algorithm is implemented in the Rocket program. Starting from particle vertices given by Feynman rules, tree amplitudes are constructed using recursive relations. The tree amplitudes are then used to build one-loop amplitudes using an integer dimension on-shell cut method. As a first application we considered only three and four gluon vertices calculating the pure gluonic one-loop amplitudes for arbitrary external helicity or polarization states. We compare our numerical results to analytical results in the literature, analyze the time behavior of the algorithm and the accuracy of the results, and give explicit results for fixed phase space points for up to twenty external gluons.Comment: 22 pages, 9 figures; v2: references added, version accepted for publicatio

Scalar diagrammatic rules for Born amplitudes in QCD

We show that all Born amplitudes in QCD can be calculated from scalar propagators and a set of three- and four-valent vertices. In particular, our approach includes amplitudes with any number of quark pairs. The quarks may be massless or massive. The proof of the formalism is given entirely within quantum field theory.Comment: 20 pages, references adde

On-Shell Recursion Relations for Generic Theories

We show that on-shell recursion relations hold for tree amplitudes in generic two derivative theories of multiple particle species and diverse spins. For example, in a gauge theory coupled to scalars and fermions, any amplitude with at least one gluon obeys a recursion relation. In (super)gravity coupled to scalars and fermions, the same holds for any amplitude with at least one graviton. This result pertains to a broad class of theories, including QCD, N=4 SYM, and N=8 supergravity.Comment: 19 pages, 3 figure

Integrand reduction of one-loop scattering amplitudes through Laurent series expansion

We present a semi-analytic method for the integrand reduction of one-loop amplitudes, based on the systematic application of the Laurent expansions to the integrand-decomposition. In the asymptotic limit, the coefficients of the master integrals are the solutions of a diagonal system of equations, properly corrected by counterterms whose parametric form is konwn a priori. The Laurent expansion of the integrand is implemented through polynomial division. The extension of the integrand-reduction to the case of numerators with rank larger than the number of propagators is discussed as well.Comment: v2: Published version: references and two appendices added. v3: Eq.(6.11) corrected, Appendix B updated accordingl

Superconformal Quantum Mechanics of Small Black Holes

Recently, Gaiotto, Strominger and Yin have proposed a holographic dual description for the near-horizon physics of certain N=2 black holes in terms of the superconformal quantum mechanics on D0-branes in the attractor geometry. We provide further evidence for their proposal by applying it to the case of `small' black holes which have vanishing horizon area in the leading supergravity approximation. We consider 2-charge black holes in type IIA on $T^2 \times M$, where $M$ can be either $K_3$ or $T^4$, made up out of D0-branes and D4-branes wrapping $M$. We construct the corresponding superconformal quantum mechanics and show that the asymptotic growth of chiral primaries exactly matches with the known entropy of these black holes. The state-counting problem reduces to counting lowest Landau levels on $T^2$ and Dolbeault cohomology classes on $M$.Comment: Latex, 16 pages; v2: minor corrections, references added, published versio

Single Cut Integration

We present an analytic technique for evaluating single cuts for one-loop integrands, where exactly one propagator is taken to be on shell. Our method extends the double-cut integration formalism of one-loop amplitudes to the single-cut case. We argue that single cuts give meaningful information about amplitudes when taken at the integrand level. We discuss applications to the computation of tadpole coefficients.Comment: v2: corrected typo in abstrac

The Cut-Constructible Part of QCD Amplitudes

Unitarity cuts are widely used in analytic computation of loop amplitudes in gauge theories such as QCD. We expand upon the technique introduced in hep-ph/0503132 to carry out any finite unitarity cut integral. This technique naturally separates the contributions of bubble, triangle and box integrals in one-loop amplitudes and is not constrained to any particular helicity configurations. Loop momentum integration is reduced to a sequence of algebraic operations. We discuss the extraction of the residues at higher-order poles. Additionally, we offer concise algebraic formulas for expressing coefficients of three-mass triangle integrals. As an application, we compute all remaining coefficients of bubble and triangle integrals for nonsupersymmetric six-gluon amplitudes.Comment: 78 pages, 3 fig