Matter Dependence of the Three-Loop Soft Anomalous Dimension Matrix

The resummation of soft gluon exchange for QCD hard scattering requires a matrix of anomalous dimensions, which has been computed through two loops. The two-loop matrix is proportional to the one-loop matrix. Recently there have been proposals that this proportionality extends to higher loops. One can test such proposals by computing the dependence of this matrix on the matter content in a generic gauge theory. It is shown that for the matter-dependent part the proportionality extends to three loops for arbitrary massless processes.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures; v2 minor clarifications, references adde

Twistor String Theory and QCD

I review recent progress in using twistor-inspired methods to compute perturbative scattering amplitudes in gauge theory, for application to collider physics.Comment: 17 pages, 9 figures. Presented at the International Europhysics Conference on High Energy Physics (Lisbon, July, 2005

The Principle of Maximal Transcendentality and the Four-Loop Collinear Anomalous Dimension

We use the principle of maximal transcendentality and the universal nature of subleading infrared poles to extract the analytic value of the four-loop collinear anomalous dimension in planar ${\cal N}=4$ super-Yang-Mills theory from recent QCD results, obtaining $\hat{\cal G}_{0}^{(4)} = - 300 \zeta_7 - 256 \zeta_2 \zeta_5 - 384 \zeta_3 \zeta_4$. This value agrees with a previous numerical result to within 0.2 percent. It also provides the Regge trajectory, threshold soft anomalous dimension and rapidity anomalous dimension through four loops.Comment: 12 pages, no figures. v2, references adde

Ultraviolet Behavior of N=8 Supergravity

In these lectures I describe the remarkable ultraviolet behavior of N=8 supergravity, which through four loops is no worse than that of N=4 super-Yang-Mills theory (a finite theory). I also explain the computational tools that allow multi-loop amplitudes to be evaluated in this theory - the KLT relations and the unitarity method - and sketch how ultraviolet divergences are extracted from the amplitudes.Comment: 30 pages, 12 figures; lectures presented at International School of Subnuclear Physics, 47th Course, Erice Sicily, August 29-September 7, 200

Recent Developments in Perturbative QCD

I review recent progress in perturbative QCD on two fronts: extending next-to-next-to-leading order QCD corrections to a broader range of collider processes, and applying twistor-space methods (and related spinoffs) to computations of multi-parton scattering amplitudes.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figures. Talk presented at 13th International Workshop on Deep Inelastic Scattering (DIS 05), Madison, Wisconsin, April, 200

Gluing Ladders into Fishnets

We use integrability at weak coupling to compute fishnet diagrams for four-point correlation functions in planar $\phi^4$ theory. The results are always multi-linear combinations of ladder integrals, which are in turn built out of classical polylogarithms. The Steinmann relations provide a powerful constraint on such linear combinations, leading to a natural conjecture for any fishnet diagram as the determinant of a matrix of ladder integrals.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures; v2, minor corrrections, e.g. in fig. 2 captio

Bootstrapping an NMHV amplitude through three loops

We extend the hexagon function bootstrap to the next-to-maximally-helicity-violating (NMHV) configuration for six-point scattering in planar ${\cal N}=4$ super-Yang-Mills theory at three loops. Constraints from the $\bar{Q}$ differential equation, from the operator product expansion (OPE) for Wilson loops with operator insertions, and from multi-Regge factorization, lead to a unique answer for the three-loop ratio function. The three-loop result also predicts additional terms in the OPE expansion, as well as the behavior of NMHV amplitudes in the multi-Regge limit at one higher logarithmic accuracy (NNLL) than was used as input. Both predictions are in agreement with recent results from the flux-tube approach. We also study the multi-particle factorization of multi-loop amplitudes for the first time. We find that the function controlling this factorization is purely logarithmic through three loops. We show that a function $U$, which is closely related to the parity-even part of the ratio function $V$, is remarkably simple; only five of the nine possible final entries in its symbol are non-vanishing. We study the analytic and numerical behavior of both the parity-even and parity-odd parts of the ratio function on simple lines traversing the space of cross ratios $(u,v,w)$, as well as on a few two-dimensional planes. Finally, we present an empirical formula for $V$ in terms of elements of the coproduct of the six-gluon MHV remainder function $R_6$ at one higher loop, which works through three loops for $V$ (four loops for $R_6$).Comment: 69 pages, 12 figures, 1 table, 3 ancillary files; v2, minor typo's correcte

Universal structure of subleading infrared poles in gauge theory amplitudes

We study the origin of subleading soft and collinear poles of form factors and amplitudes in dimensionally-regulated massless gauge theories. In the case of form factors of fundamental fields, these poles originate from a single function of the coupling, denoted G(alpha_s), depending on both the spin and gauge quantum numbers of the field. We relate G(alpha_s) to gauge-theory matrix elements involving the gluon field strength. We then show that G(alpha_s) is the sum of three terms: a universal eikonal anomalous dimension, a universal non-eikonal contribution, given by the coefficient B_delta (alpha_s) of delta(1 - z) in the collinear evolution kernel, and a process-dependent short-distance coefficient function, which does not contribute to infrared poles. Using general results on the factorization of soft and collinear singularities in fixed-angle massless gauge theory amplitudes, we conclude that all such singularities are captured by the eikonal approximation, supplemented only by the knowledge of B_delta (alpha_s). We explore the consequences of our results for conformal gauge theories, where in particular we find a simple exact relation between the form factor and the cusp anomalous dimension.Comment: 29 pages, 1 figure; version published on JHEP, two added reference

Gluon scattering in N=4 super-Yang-Mills theory from weak to strong coupling

I describe some recent developments in the understanding of gluon scattering amplitudes in N=4 super-Yang-Mills theory in the large-N_c limit. These amplitudes can be computed to high orders in the weak coupling expansion, and also now at strong coupling using the AdS/CFT correspondence. They hold the promise of being solvable to all orders in the gauge coupling, with the help of techniques based on integrability. They are intimately related to expectation values for polygonal Wilson loops composed of light-like segments.Comment: 20 pages, 10 figures, talk presented at RADCOR 200