2,553 research outputs found
The Grassmannian Origin Of Dual Superconformal Invariance
A dual formulation of the S Matrix for N=4 SYM has recently been presented,
where all leading singularities of n-particle N^{k-2}MHV amplitudes are given
as an integral over the Grassmannian G(k,n), with cyclic symmetry, parity and
superconformal invariance manifest. In this short note we show that the dual
superconformal invariance of this object is also manifest. The geometry
naturally suggests a partial integration and simple change of variable to an
integral over G(k-2,n). This change of variable precisely corresponds to the
mapping between usual momentum variables and the "momentum twistors" introduced
by Hodges, and yields an elementary derivation of the momentum-twistor space
formula very recently presented by Mason and Skinner, which is manifestly dual
superconformal invariant. Thus the G(k,n) Grassmannian formulation allows a
direct understanding of all the important symmetries of N=4 SYM scattering
amplitudes.Comment: 9 page
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
The Yangian origin of the Grassmannian integral
In this paper we analyse formulas which reproduce different contributions to
scattering amplitudes in N=4 super Yang-Mills theory through a Grassmannian
integral. Recently their Yangian invariance has been proved directly by using
the explicit expression of the Yangian level-one generators. The specific
cyclic structure of the form integrated over the Grassmannian enters in a
crucial way in demonstrating the symmetry. Here we show that the Yangian
symmetry fixes this structure uniquely.Comment: 26 pages. v2: typos corrected, published versio
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
On All-loop Integrands of Scattering Amplitudes in Planar N=4 SYM
We study the relationship between the momentum twistor MHV vertex expansion
of planar amplitudes in N=4 super-Yang-Mills and the all-loop generalization of
the BCFW recursion relations. We demonstrate explicitly in several examples
that the MHV vertex expressions for tree-level amplitudes and loop integrands
satisfy the recursion relations. Furthermore, we introduce a rewriting of the
MHV expansion in terms of sums over non-crossing partitions and show that this
cyclically invariant formula satisfies the recursion relations for all numbers
of legs and all loop orders.Comment: 34 pages, 17 figures; v2: Minor improvements to exposition and
discussion, updated references, typos fixe
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 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 symmetry of 1-loop NMHV amplitudes in N=4 SYM theory
We prove that 1-loop n-point NMHV superamplitudes in N=4 SYM theory are dual
conformal covariant for all numbers n of external particles (after
regularization and subtraction of IR divergences). This property was previously
established for n < 10 in arXiv:0808.0491. We derive an explicit representation
of these superamplitudes in terms of dual conformal cross-ratios. We also show
that all the 1-loop `box coefficients' obtained from maximal cuts of N^kMHV
n-point functions are covariant under dual conformal transformations.Comment: 20 pages, 2 figure
The One-Loop One-Mass Hexagon Integral in D=6 Dimensions
We evaluate analytically the one-loop one-mass hexagon in six dimensions. The
result is given in terms of standard polylogarithms of uniform transcendental
weight three.Comment: 9 page
Differential equations for multi-loop integrals and two-dimensional kinematics
In this paper we consider multi-loop integrals appearing in MHV scattering
amplitudes of planar N=4 SYM. Through particular differential operators which
reduce the loop order by one, we present explicit equations for the two-loop
eight-point finite diagrams which relate them to massive hexagons. After the
reduction to two-dimensional kinematics, we solve them using symbol technology.
The terms invisible to the symbols are found through boundary conditions coming
from double soft limits. These equations are valid at all-loop order for double
pentaladders and allow to solve iteratively loop integrals given lower-loop
information. Comments are made about multi-leg and multi-loop integrals which
can appear in this special kinematics. The main motivation of this
investigation is to get a deeper understanding of these tools in this
configuration, as well as for their application in general four-dimensional
kinematics and to less supersymmetric theories.Comment: 25 pages, 7 figure
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