370 research outputs found
Spinor Helicity and Dual Conformal Symmetry in Ten Dimensions
The spinor helicity formalism in four dimensions has become a very useful
tool both for understanding the structure of amplitudes and also for practical
numerical computation of amplitudes. Recently, there has been some discussion
of an extension of this formalism to higher dimensions. We describe a
particular implementation of the spinor-helicity method in ten dimensions.
Using this tool, we study the tree-level S-matrix of ten dimensional super
Yang-Mills theory, and prove that the theory enjoys a dual conformal symmetry.
Implications for four-dimensional computations are discussed.Comment: 24 pages, 1 figure
The All-Loop Integrand For Scattering Amplitudes in Planar N=4 SYM
We give an explicit recursive formula for the all L-loop integrand for
scattering amplitudes in N=4 SYM in the planar limit, manifesting the full
Yangian symmetry of the theory. This generalizes the BCFW recursion relation
for tree amplitudes to all loop orders, and extends the Grassmannian duality
for leading singularities to the full amplitude. It also provides a new
physical picture for the meaning of loops, associated with canonical operations
for removing particles in a Yangian-invariant way. Loop amplitudes arise from
the "entangled" removal of pairs of particles, and are naturally presented as
an integral over lines in momentum-twistor space. As expected from manifest
Yangian-invariance, the integrand is given as a sum over non-local terms,
rather than the familiar decomposition in terms of local scalar integrals with
rational coefficients. Knowing the integrands explicitly, it is straightforward
to express them in local forms if desired; this turns out to be done most
naturally using a novel basis of chiral, tensor integrals written in
momentum-twistor space, each of which has unit leading singularities. As simple
illustrative examples, we present a number of new multi-loop results written in
local form, including the 6- and 7-point 2-loop NMHV amplitudes. Very concise
expressions are presented for all 2-loop MHV amplitudes, as well as the 5-point
3-loop MHV amplitude. The structure of the loop integrand strongly suggests
that the integrals yielding the physical amplitudes are "simple", and
determined by IR-anomalies. We briefly comment on extending these ideas to more
general planar theories.Comment: 46 pages; v2: minor changes, references adde
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
Manifest SO(N) invariance and S-matrices of three-dimensional N=2,4,8 SYM
An on-shell formalism for the computation of S-matrices of SYM theories in
three spacetime dimensions is presented. The framework is a generalization of
the spinor-helicity formalism in four dimensions. The formalism is applied to
establish the manifest SO(N) covariance of the on-shell superalgebra relevant
to N =2,4 and 8 SYM theories in d=3. The results are then used to argue for the
SO(N) invariance of the S-matrices of these theories: a claim which is proved
explicitly for the four-particle scattering amplitudes. Recursion relations
relating tree amplitudes of three-dimensional SYM theories are shown to follow
from their four-dimensional counterparts. The results for the four-particle
amplitudes are verified by tree-level perturbative computations and a unitarity
based construction of the integrand corresponding to the leading perturbative
correction is also presented for the N=8 theory. For N=8 SYM, the manifest
SO(8) symmetry is used to develop a map between the color-ordered amplitudes of
the SYM and superconformal Chern-Simons theories, providing a direct connection
between on-shell observables of D2 and M2-brane theories.Comment: 28 page
Solution to the Ward Identities for Superamplitudes
Supersymmetry and R-symmetry Ward identities relate on-shell amplitudes in a
supersymmetric field theory. We solve these Ward identities for (Next-to)^K MHV
amplitudes of the maximally supersymmetric N=4 and N=8 theories. The resulting
superamplitude is written in a new, manifestly supersymmetric and R-invariant
form: it is expressed as a sum of very simple SUSY and SU(N)_R-invariant
Grassmann polynomials, each multiplied by a "basis amplitude". For (Next-to)^K
MHV n-point superamplitudes the number of basis amplitudes is equal to the
dimension of the irreducible representation of SU(n-4) corresponding to the
rectangular Young diagram with N columns and K rows. The linearly independent
amplitudes in this algebraic basis may still be functionally related by
permutation of momenta. We show how cyclic and reflection symmetries can be
used to obtain a smaller functional basis of color-ordered single-trace
amplitudes in N=4 gauge theory. We also analyze the more significant reduction
that occurs in N=8 supergravity because gravity amplitudes are not ordered. All
results are valid at both tree and loop level.Comment: 29 pages, published versio
Unraveling L_{n,k}: Grassmannian Kinematics
It was recently proposed that the leading singularities of the S-Matrix of N
= 4 super Yang-Mills theory arise as the residues of a contour integral over a
Grassmannian manifold, with space-time locality encoded through residue
theorems generalizing Cauchy's theorem to more than one variable. We provide a
method to identify the residue corresponding to any leading singularity, and we
carry this out very explicitly for all leading singularities at tree level and
one-loop. We also give several examples at higher loops, including all generic
two-loop leading singularities and an interesting four-loop object. As a
special case we consider a 12-pt N^4MHV leading singularity at two loops that
has a new kinematic structure involving double square roots. Our analysis
results in a simple picture for how the topological structure of loop graphs is
reflected in various substructures within the Grassmannian.Comment: 26+11 page
The S-Matrix in Twistor Space
The simplicity and hidden symmetries of (Super) Yang-Mills and (Super)Gravity
scattering amplitudes suggest the existence of a "weak-weak" dual formulation
in which these structures are made manifest at the expense of manifest
locality. We suggest that this dual description lives in (2,2) signature and is
naturally formulated in twistor space. We recast the BCFW recursion relations
in an on-shell form that begs to be transformed into twistor space. Our twistor
transformation is inspired by Witten's, but differs in treating twistor and
dual twistor variables more equally. In these variables the three and
four-point amplitudes are amazingly simple; the BCFW relations are represented
by diagrammatic rules that precisely define the "twistor diagrams" of Andrew
Hodges. The "Hodges diagrams" for Yang-Mills theory are disks and not trees;
they reveal striking connections between amplitudes and suggest a new form for
them in momentum space. We also obtain a twistorial formulation of gravity. All
tree amplitudes can be combined into an "S-Matrix" functional which is the
natural holographic observable in asymptotically flat space; the BCFW formula
turns into a quadratic equation for this "S-Matrix", providing a holographic
description of N=4 SYM and N=8 Supergravity at tree level. We explore loop
amplitudes in (2,2) signature and twistor space, beginning with a discussion of
IR behavior. We find that the natural pole prescription renders the amplitudes
well-defined and free of IR divergences. Loop amplitudes vanish for generic
momenta, and in twistor space are even simpler than their tree-level
counterparts! This further supports the idea that there exists a sharply
defined object corresponding to the S-Matrix in (2,2) signature, computed by a
dual theory naturally living in twistor space.Comment: V1: 46 pages + 23 figures. Less telegraphic abstract in the body of
the paper. V2: 49 pages + 24 figures. Largely expanded set of references
included. Some diagrammatic clarifications added, minor typo fixe
A manifestly MHV Lagrangian for N=4 Yang-Mills
We derive a manifestly MHV Lagrangian for the N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills
theory in light-cone superspace. This is achieved by constructing a canonical
redefinition which maps the N=4 superfield and its conjugate to a new pair of
superfields. In terms of these new superfields the N=4 Lagrangian takes a
(non-polynomial) manifestly MHV form, containing vertices involving two
superfields of negative helicity and an arbitrary number of superfields of
positive helicity. We also discuss constraints satisfied by the new
superfields, which ensure that they describe the correct degrees of freedom in
the N=4 supermultiplet. We test our derivation by showing that an expansion of
our superspace Lagrangian in component fields reproduces the correct gluon MHV
vertices.Comment: 37 pages, 1 figure. v2: minor changes, references adde
Towards Field Theory Amplitudes From the Cohomology of Pure Spinor Superspace
A simple BRST-closed expression for the color-ordered super-Yang-Mills
5-point amplitude at tree-level is proposed in pure spinor superspace and shown
to be BRST-equivalent to the field theory limit of the open superstring 5-pt
amplitude. It is manifestly cyclic invariant and each one of its five terms can
be associated to the five Feynman diagrams which use only cubic vertices. Its
form also suggests an empirical method to find superspace expressions in the
cohomology of the pure spinor BRST operator for higher-point amplitudes based
on their kinematic pole structure. Using this method, Ansaetze for the 6- and
7-point 10D super-Yang-Mills amplitudes which map to their 14 and 42
color-ordered diagrams are conjectured and their 6- and 7-gluon expansions are
explicitly computed.Comment: 14 pages, harvmac, v4: trivial edits in the text to comply with JHEP
refere
R^4 counterterm and E7(7) symmetry in maximal supergravity
The coefficient of a potential R^4 counterterm in N=8 supergravity has been
shown previously to vanish in an explicit three-loop calculation. The R^4 term
respects N=8 supersymmetry; hence this result poses the question of whether
another symmetry could be responsible for the cancellation of the three-loop
divergence. In this article we investigate possible restrictions from the coset
symmetry E7(7)/SU(8), exploring the limits as a single scalar becomes soft, as
well as a double-soft scalar limit relation derived recently by Arkani-Hamed et
al. We implement these relations for the matrix elements of the R^4 term that
occurs in the low-energy expansion of closed-string tree-level amplitudes. We
find that the matrix elements of R^4 that we investigated all obey the
double-soft scalar limit relation, including certain
non-maximally-helicity-violating six-point amplitudes. However, the single-soft
limit does not vanish for this latter set of amplitudes, which suggests that
the E7(7) symmetry is broken by the R^4 term.Comment: 33 pages, typos corrected, published versio
- …