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arXiv · 2310.10729

Flattening of the EFT-Hedron: Supersymmetric Positivity Bounds and the Search for String Theory

Justin Berman·Henriette Elvang·Aidan Herderschee
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Abstract

We examine universal positivity constraints on $2 \to 2$ scattering in 4d planar $N=4$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory with higher-derivative corrections. We present numerical evidence that the convex region of allowed Wilson coefficients (the ``EFT-hedron'') flattens completely along about one-third of its dimensions when an increasing number of constraints on the spectral density from crossing-symmetry are included. Our analysis relies on the formulation of the positivity constraints as a linear optimization problem, which we implement using two numerical solvers, SDPB and CPLEX. Motivated by the flattening, we propose a novel partially resummed low-energy expansion of the $2 \to 2$ amplitude. As part of the analysis, we provide additional evidence in favor of the conjecture [1] that the Veneziano amplitude is the only amplitude compatible with both S-matrix bootstrap constraints and string monodromy.

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Justin Berman, Henriette Elvang, Aidan Herderschee. 2023-10-16. Flattening of the EFT-Hedron: Supersymmetric Positivity Bounds and the Search for String Theory. https://arxiv.org/abs/2310.10729

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