594 research outputs found
New differential equations for on-shell loop integrals
We present a novel type of differential equations for on-shell loop
integrals. The equations are second-order and importantly, they reduce the loop
level by one, so that they can be solved iteratively in the loop order. We
present several infinite series of integrals satisfying such iterative
differential equations. The differential operators we use are best written
using momentum twistor space. The use of the latter was advocated in recent
papers discussing loop integrals in N=4 super Yang-Mills. One of our
motivations is to provide a tool for deriving analytical results for scattering
amplitudes in this theory. We show that the integrals needed for planar MHV
amplitudes up to two loops can be thought of as deriving from a single master
topology. The master integral satisfies our differential equations, and so do
most of the reduced integrals. A consequence of the differential equations is
that the integrals we discuss are not arbitrarily complicated transcendental
functions. For two specific two-loop integrals we give the full analytic
solution. The simplicity of the integrals appearing in the scattering
amplitudes in planar N=4 super Yang-Mills is strongly suggestive of a relation
to the conjectured underlying integrability of the theory. We expect these
differential equations to be relevant for all planar MHV and non-MHV
amplitudes. We also discuss possible extensions of our method to more general
classes of integrals.Comment: 39 pages, 8 figures; v2: typos corrected, definition of harmonic
polylogarithms adde
The one-loop six-dimensional hexagon integral and its relation to MHV amplitudes in N=4 SYM
We provide an analytic formula for the (rescaled) one-loop scalar hexagon
integral with all external legs massless, in terms of classical
polylogarithms. We show that this integral is closely connected to two
integrals appearing in one- and two-loop amplitudes in planar
super-Yang-Mills theory, and . The derivative of
with respect to one of the conformal invariants yields
, while another first-order differential operator applied to
yields . We also introduce some kinematic
variables that rationalize the arguments of the polylogarithms, making it easy
to verify the latter differential equation. We also give a further example of a
six-dimensional integral relevant for amplitudes in
super-Yang-Mills.Comment: 18 pages, 2 figure
Dual Conformal Properties of Six-Dimensional Maximal Super Yang-Mills Amplitudes
We demonstrate that the tree-level amplitudes of maximal super-Yang-Mills
theory in six dimensions, when stripped of their overall momentum and
supermomentum delta functions, are covariant with respect to the
six-dimensional dual conformal group. Using the generalized unitarity method,
we demonstrate that this property is also present for loop amplitudes. Since
the six-dimensional amplitudes can be interpreted as massive four-dimensional
ones, this implies that the six-dimensional symmetry is also present in the
massively regulated four-dimensional maximal super-Yang-Mills amplitudes.Comment: 20 pages, 3 figures, minor clarification, references update
The cusp anomalous dimension at three loops and beyond
We derive an analytic formula at three loops for the cusp anomalous dimension
Gamma_cusp(phi) in N=4 super Yang-Mills. This is done by exploiting the
relation of the latter to the Regge limit of massive amplitudes. We comment on
the corresponding three loops quark anti-quark potential. Our result also
determines a considerable part of the three-loop cusp anomalous dimension in
QCD. Finally, we consider a limit in which only ladder diagrams contribute to
physical observables. In that limit, a precise agreement with strong coupling
is observed.Comment: 34 pages, 6 figures. v2: references added, typos correcte
No triangles on the moduli space of maximally supersymmetric gauge theory
Maximally supersymmetric gauge theory in four dimensions has a remarkably
simple S-matrix at the origin of its moduli space at both tree and loop level.
This leads to the question what, if any, of this structure survives at the
complement of this one point. Here this question is studied in detail at one
loop for the branch of the moduli space parameterized by a vacuum expectation
value for one complex scalar. Motivated by the parallel D-brane picture of
spontaneous symmetry breaking a simple relation is demonstrated between the
Lagrangian of broken super Yang-Mills theory and that of its higher dimensional
unbroken cousin. Using this relation it is proven both through an on- as well
as an off-shell method there are no so-called triangle coefficients in the
natural basis of one-loop functions at any finite point of the moduli space for
the theory under study. The off-shell method yields in addition absence of
rational terms in a class of theories on the Coulomb branch which includes the
special case of maximal supersymmetry. The results in this article provide
direct field theory evidence for a recently proposed exact dual conformal
symmetry motivated by the AdS/CFT correspondence.Comment: 39 pages, 4 figure
Analytic result for the two-loop six-point NMHV amplitude in N=4 super Yang-Mills theory
We provide a simple analytic formula for the two-loop six-point ratio
function of planar N = 4 super Yang-Mills theory. This result extends the
analytic knowledge of multi-loop six-point amplitudes beyond those with maximal
helicity violation. We make a natural ansatz for the symbols of the relevant
functions appearing in the two-loop amplitude, and impose various consistency
conditions, including symmetry, the absence of spurious poles, the correct
collinear behaviour, and agreement with the operator product expansion for
light-like (super) Wilson loops. This information reduces the ansatz to a small
number of relatively simple functions. In order to fix these parameters
uniquely, we utilize an explicit representation of the amplitude in terms of
loop integrals that can be evaluated analytically in various kinematic limits.
The final compact analytic result is expressed in terms of classical
polylogarithms, whose arguments are rational functions of the dual conformal
cross-ratios, plus precisely two functions that are not of this type. One of
the functions, the loop integral \Omega^{(2)}, also plays a key role in a new
representation of the remainder function R_6^{(2)} in the maximally helicity
violating sector. Another interesting feature at two loops is the appearance of
a new (parity odd) \times (parity odd) sector of the amplitude, which is absent
at one loop, and which is uniquely determined in a natural way in terms of the
more familiar (parity even) \times (parity even) part. The second
non-polylogarithmic function, the loop integral \tilde{\Omega}^{(2)},
characterizes this sector. Both \Omega^{(2)} and tilde{\Omega}^{(2)} can be
expressed as one-dimensional integrals over classical polylogarithms with
rational arguments.Comment: 51 pages, 4 figures, one auxiliary file with symbols; v2 minor typo
correction
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
Light-like polygonal Wilson loops in 3d Chern-Simons and ABJM theory
We study light-like polygonal Wilson loops in three-dimensional Chern-Simons
and ABJM theory to two-loop order. For both theories we demonstrate that the
one-loop contribution to these correlators cancels. For pure Chern-Simons, we
find that specific UV divergences arise from diagrams involving two cusps,
implying the loss of finiteness and topological invariance at two-loop order.
Studying those UV divergences we derive anomalous conformal Ward identities for
n-cusped Wilson loops which restrict the finite part of the latter to
conformally invariant functions. We also compute the four-cusp Wilson loop in
ABJM theory to two-loop order and find that the result is remarkably similar to
that of the corresponding Wilson loop in N=4 SYM. Finally, we speculate about
the existence of a Wilson loop/scattering amplitude relation in ABJM theory.Comment: 37 pages, many figures; v2: references added, minor changes; v3:
references added, sign error fixed and note adde
From Momentum Amplituhedron Boundaries to Amplitude Singularities and Back
20 pages, 7 figuresThe momentum amplituhedron is a positive geometry encoding tree-level scattering amplitudes in super Yang-Mills directly in spinor-helicity space. In this paper we classify all boundaries of the momentum amplituhedron and explain how these boundaries are related to the expected factorization channels, and soft and collinear limits of tree amplitudes. Conversely, all physical singularities of tree amplitudes are encoded in this boundary stratification. Finally, we find that the momentum amplituhedron has Euler characteristic equal to one, which provides a first step towards proving that it is homeomorphic to a ball.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio
From Correlators to Wilson Loops in Chern-Simons Matter Theories
We study n-point correlation functions for chiral primary operators in three
dimensional supersymmetric Chern-Simons matter theories. Our analysis is
carried on in N=2 superspace and covers N=2,3 supersymmetric CFT's, the N=6
ABJM and the N=8 BLG models. In the limit where the positions of adjacent
operators become light-like, we find that the one-loop n-point correlator
divided by its tree level expression coincides with a light-like n-polygon
Wilson loop. Remarkably, the result can be simply expressed as a linear
combination of five dimensional two-mass easy boxes. We manage to evaluate the
integrals analytically and find a vanishing result, in agreement with previous
findings for Wilson loops.Comment: 32 pages, 6 figures, JHEP
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