Non-linear QCD evolution with improved triple-pomeron vertices

In a previous publication, we have constructed a set of non-linear evolution equations for dipole scattering amplitudes in QCD at high energy, which extends the Balitsky-JIMWLK hierarchy by including the effects of fluctuations in the gluon number in the target wavefunction. In doing so, we have relied on the color dipole picture, valid in the limit where the number of colors is large, and we have made some further approximations on the relation between scattering amplitudes and dipole densities, which amount to neglecting the non-locality of the two-gluon exchanges. In this Letter, we relax the latter approximations, and thus restore the correct structure of the `triple-pomeron vertex' which describes the splitting of one BFKL pomeron into two within the terms responsible for fluctuations. The ensuing triple-pomeron vertex coincides with the one previously derived by Braun and Vacca within perturbative QCD. The evolution equations can be recast in a Langevin form, but with a multivariable noise term with off-diagonal correlations. Our equations are shown to be equivalent with the modified version of the JIMWLK equation recently proposed by Mueller, Shoshi, and Wong.Comment: 15 page

Duality and Pomeron effective theory for QCD at high energy and large N_c

We propose an effective theory which governs Pomeron dynamics in QCD at high energy, in the leading logarithmic approximation, and in the limit where N_c, the number of colors, is large. In spite of its remarkably simple structure, this effective theory generates precisely the evolution equations for scattering amplitudes that have been recently deduced from a more complete microscopic analysis. It accounts for the BFKL evolution of the Pomerons together with their interactions: dissociation (one Pomeron splitting into two) and recombination (two Pomerons merging into one). It is constructed by exploiting a duality principle relating the evolutions in the target and the projectile, more precisely, splitting and merging processes, or fluctuations in the dilute regime and saturation effects in the dense regime. The simplest Pomeron loop calculated with the effective theory is free of both ultraviolet or infrared singularities.Comment: 13 pages, 1 figur

On the Relationship between Large Order Graphs and Instantons for the Double Well Oscillator

The double well oscillator is used as a QCD-like model for studying the relationship between large order graphs and the instanton-antiinstanton solution. We derive an equation for the perturbative coefficients of the ground state energy when the number of 3 and/or 4-vertices is fixed and large. These coefficients are determined in terms of an exact``bounce'' solution. When the number of 4-vertices is analytically continued to be near the negative of half the number of 3-vertices the bounce solution approaches the instanton-antiinstanton solution and detremines leading Borel singularity.Comment: 26 pages, Latex, 6 figures, 1 tabl

On possible implications of gluon number fluctuations in DIS data

We study the effect of gluon number fluctuations (Pomeron loops) on deep inelastic scattering (DIS) in the fixed coupling case. We find that the description of the DIS data is improved once gluon number fluctuations are included. Also the values of the parameters, like the saturation exponent and the diffussion coefficient, turn out reasonable and agree with values obtained from numerical simulations of toy models which take into account fluctuations. This outcome seems to indicate the evidence of geometric scaling violations, and a possible implication of gluon number fluctuations, in the DIS data. However, we cannot exclude the possibility that the scaling violations may also come from the diffusion part of the solution to the BK-equation, instead of gluon number fluctuations.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figures; references added, minor changes, matches published versio

A zero-dimensional model for high-energy scattering in QCD

We investigate a zero-dimensional toy model originally introduced by Mueller and Salam which mimics high-energy scattering in QCD in the presence of both gluon saturation and gluon number fluctuations, and hence of Pomeron loops. Unlike other toy models of the reaction-diffusion type, the model studied in this paper is consistent with boost invariance and, related to that, it exhibits a mechanism for particle saturation close to that of the JIMWLK equation in QCD, namely the saturation of the emission rate due to high-density effects. Within this model, we establish the dominant high-energy behaviour of the S-matrix element for the scattering between a target obtained by evolving one particle and a projectile made with exactly n particles. Remarkably, we find that all such matrix elements approach the black disk limit S=0 at high rapidity Y, with the same exponential law: ~ exp(-Y) for all values of n. This is so because the S-matrix is dominated by rare target configurations which involve only few particles. We also find that the bulk distribution for a saturated system is of the Poisson type.Comment: 34 pages, 9 figures. Some explanations added on the frame-dependence of the relevant configurations (new section 3.3

One-dimensional model for QCD at high energy

We propose a stochastic particle model in (1+1)-dimensions, with one dimension corresponding to rapidity and the other one to the transverse size of a dipole in QCD, which mimics high-energy evolution and scattering in QCD in the presence of both saturation and particle-number fluctuations, and hence of Pomeron loops. The model evolves via non-linear particle splitting, with a non-local splitting rate which is constrained by boost-invariance and multiple scattering. The splitting rate saturates at high density, so like the gluon emission rate in the JIMWLK evolution. In the mean field approximation obtained by ignoring fluctuations, the model exhibits the hallmarks of the BK equation, namely a BFKL-like evolution at low density, the formation of a traveling wave, and geometric scaling. In the full evolution including fluctuations, the geometric scaling is washed out at high energy and replaced by diffusive scaling. It is likely that the model belongs to the universality class of the reaction-diffusion process. The analysis of the model sheds new light on the Pomeron loops equations in QCD and their possible improvements.Comment: 35 pages, 4 figures, one appendi

On the Probabilistic Interpretation of the Evolution Equations with Pomeron Loops in QCD

We study some structural aspects of the evolution equations with Pomeron loops recently derived in QCD at high energy and for a large number of colors, with the purpose of clarifying their probabilistic interpretation. We show that, in spite of their appealing dipolar structure and of the self-duality of the underlying Hamiltonian, these equations cannot be given a meaningful interpretation in terms of a system of dipoles which evolves through dissociation (one dipole splitting into two) and recombination (two dipoles merging into one). The problem comes from the saturation effects, which cannot be described as dipole recombination, not even effectively. We establish this by showing that a (probabilistically meaningful) dipolar evolution in either the target or the projectile wavefunction cannot reproduce the actual evolution equations in QCD.Comment: 31 pages, 2 figure

The Energy Dependence of the Saturation Momentum from RG Improved BFKL Evolution

We study the energy dependence of the saturation momentum in the context of the collinearly improved Leading and Next to Leading BFKL evolution, and in the presence of saturation boundaries. We find that the logarithmic derivative of the saturation momentum is varying very slowly with Bjorken-x, and its value is in agreement with the Golec-Biernat and Wusthoff model in the relevant x region. The scaling form of the amplitude for dipole-dipole or dipole-hadron scattering in the perturbative side of the boundary is given.Comment: 32 page

A Langevin equation for high energy evolution with pomeron loops

We show that the Balitsky-JIMWLK equations proposed to describe non-linear evolution in QCD at high energy fail to include the effects of fluctuations in the gluon number, and thus to correctly describe both the low density regime and the approach towards saturation. On the other hand, these fluctuations are correctly encoded (in the limit where the number of colors is large) in Mueller's color dipole picture, which however neglects saturation. By combining the dipole picture at low density with the JIMWLK evolution at high density, we construct a generalization of the Balitsky hierarchy which includes the particle number fluctuations, and thus the pomeron loops. After an additional coarse-graining in impact parameter space, this hierarchy is shown to reduce to a Langevin equation in the universality class of the stochastic Fisher-Kolmogorov-Petrovsky-Piscounov (sFKPP) equation. This equation implies that the non-linear effects in the evolution become important already in the high momentum regime where the average density is small, which signals the breakdown of the BFKL approximation.Comment: 56 pages, 10 figure

Radiation by a heavy quark in N=4 SYM at strong coupling

Using the AdS/CFT correspondence in the supergravity approximation, we compute the energy density radiated by a heavy quark undergoing some arbitrary motion in the vacuum of the strongly coupled N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory. We find that this energy is fully generated via backreaction from the near-boundary endpoint of the dual string attached to the heavy quark. Because of that, the energy distribution shows the same space-time localization as the classical radiation that would be produced by the heavy quark at weak coupling. We believe that this and some other unnatural features of our result (like its anisotropy and the presence of regions with negative energy density) are artifacts of the supergravity approximation, which will be corrected after including string fluctuations. For the case where the quark trajectory is bounded, we also compute the radiated power, by integrating the energy density over the surface of a sphere at infinity. For sufficiently large times, we find agreement with a previous calculation by Mikhailov [hep-th/0305196].Comment: 22 page