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Congkao Wen

Publications and source records attributed to Congkao Wen.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Generating functions and large-charge expansion of integrated correlators in $\mathcal{N}=4$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory

We recently proved that, when integrating out spacetime dependence with a certain measure, four-point correlators $\langle \mathcal{O}_2\mathcal{O}_2\mathcal{O}^{(i)}_p \mathcal{O}^{(j)}_p \rangle$ in $SU(N)$ $\mathcal{N}=4$ super Yang-Mills are governed by a universal Laplace-difference equation. Here $\mathcal{O}^{(i)}_p$ is a superconformal primary with charge $p$ and degeneracy $i$. These observables, called integrated correlators, are modular functions of coupling $τ$. The Laplace-difference equation relates integrated correlators of different charges recursively. In this paper, we introduce generating functions for the integrated correlators that sum over the charge. By utilising the Laplace-difference equation, we determine the generating functions given initial data. We show that the transseries of the integrated correlators in the large-$p$ (large-charge) expansion consists of three parts: 1) is independent of $τ$ as a power series in $1/p$, plus an additional $\log(p)$ term if $i=j$; 2) is a power series in $1/p$, with coefficients given by a sum of the non-holomorphic Eisenstein series; 3) is a sum of exponentially decayed modular functions in the large-$p$ limit, which can be viewed as a generalisation of the non-holomorphic Eisenstein series. When $i=j$, there is an additional modular function that is independent of $p$ and is determined by the integrated correlator with $p=2$. The Laplace-difference equation was obtained with a reorganisation of the operators that means the large-charge limit is taken in a particular way here. From the $SL(2,\mathbb{Z})$-invariant results, we also determine the generalised 't Hooft genus expansion and associated large-$p$ non-perturbative corrections of the integrated correlators by introducing $λ= pg^2_{YM}$. The generating functions have subtle differences between even and odd $N$ with important consequences in resurgence.

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Laplace-difference equation for integrated correlators of operators with general charges in $\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM

We consider the integrated correlators associated with four-point correlation functions $\langle \mathcal{O}_2\mathcal{O}_2\mathcal{O}^{(i)}_p \mathcal{O}^{(j)}_p \rangle$ in four-dimensional $\mathcal{N}=4$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory (SYM) with $SU(N)$ gauge group, where $\mathcal{O}^{(i)}_p$ is a superconformal primary with charge (or dimension) $p$ and the superscript $i$ represents possible degeneracy. These integrated correlators are defined by integrating out spacetime dependence with a certain integration measure, and they can be computed via supersymmetric localisation. They are modular functions of complexified Yang-Mills coupling $τ$. We show that the localisation computation is systematised by appropriately reorganising the operators. After this reorganisation of the operators, we prove that all the integrated correlators for any $N$, with some crucial normalisation factor, satisfy a universal Laplace-difference equation (with the laplacian defined on the $τ$-plane) that relates integrated correlators of operators with different charges. This Laplace-difference equation is a recursion relation that completely determines all the integrated correlators, once the initial conditions are given.

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Modular-invariant large-$N$ completion of an integrated correlator in $\mathcal{N}=4$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory

The use of supersymmetric localisation has recently led to modular covariant expressions for certain integrated correlators of half-BPS operators in $\mathcal{N} = 4$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory with a general classical gauge group $G_N$. Here we determine generating functions that encode such integrated correlators for any classical gauge group and provide a proof of previous conjectured formulae. This gives a systematic understanding of the relation between properties of these correlators at finite $N$ and their expansions at large $N$. In particular, it determines a duality-invariant non-perturbative completion of the large-$N$ expansion in terms of a sum of novel non-holomorphic modular functions. These functions are exponentially suppressed at large $N$ and have the form of a sum of contributions from coincident $(p, q)$-string world-sheet instantons.

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Kinematic Hopf algebra for amplitudes and form factors

We propose a kinematic algebra for the Bern-Carrasco-Johansson (BCJ) numerators of tree-level amplitudes and form factors in Yang-Mills theory coupled with bi-adjoint scalars. The algebraic generators of the algebra contain two parts: the first part is simply the flavour factor of the bi-adjoint scalars, and the second part that maps to non-trivial kinematic structures of the BCJ numerators obeys extended quasi-shuffle fusion products. The underlying kinematic algebra allows us to present closed forms for the BCJ numerators with any number of gluons and two or more scalars for both on-shell amplitudes and form factors that involve an off-shell operator. The BCJ numerators constructed in this way are manifestly gauge invariant and obey many novel relations that are inherited from the kinematic algebra.

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Amplitudes, Hopf algebras and the colour-kinematics duality

It was recently proposed that the kinematic algebra featuring in the colour-kinematics duality for scattering amplitudes in heavy-mass effective field theory (HEFT) and Yang-Mills theory is a quasi-shuffle Hopf algebra. The associated fusion product determines the structure of the Bern-Carrasco-Johansson (BCJ) numerators, which are manifestly gauge invariant and with poles corresponding to heavy-particle exchange. In this work we explore the deep connections between the quasi-shuffle algebra and general physical properties of the scattering amplitudes. First, after proving the double-copy form for gravitational HEFT amplitudes, we show that the coproducts of the kinematic algebra are in correspondence with factorisations of BCJ numerators on massive poles. We then study an extension of the standard quasi-shuffle Hopf algebra to a non-abelian version describing BCJ numerators with all possible gluon orderings. This is achieved by tensoring the original algebra with a particular Hopf algebra of orderings. In this extended version, a specific choice of the coproduct in the algebra of orderings leads to an antipode in the resulting Hopf algebra that has the interpretation of reversing the gluons' order within each BCJ numerator.

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The SAGEX Review on Scattering Amplitudes, Chapter 10: Selected topics on modular covariance of type IIB string amplitudes and their $\mathcal{N}=4$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills duals

This article reviews some results of the SAGEX programme that have developed in the understanding of the interplay of supersymmetry and modular covariance of scattering amplitudes in type IIB superstring theory and its holographic image in $\mathcal{N}=4$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory (SYM). The first section includes the determination of exact expressions for BPS interactions in the low-energy expansion of type IIB superstring amplitudes. The second section concerns properties of a certain class of integrated correlators in $\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM with arbitrary classical gauge group that are exactly determined by supersymmetric localisation. Not only do these reproduce known features of perturbative and non-perturbative $\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM for any classical gauge group, but they have large-$N$ expansions that are in accord with expectations based on the holographic correspondence with superstring theory. The final section focusses on modular graph functions. These are modular functions that are closely associated with coefficients in the low-energy expansion of superstring perturbation theory and have recently received quite a lot of interest in both the physics and mathematics literature.

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The SAGEX Review on Scattering Amplitudes

This is an introduction to, and invitation to read, a series of review articles on scattering amplitudes in gauge theory, gravity, and superstring theory. Our aim is to provide an overview of the field, from basic aspects to a selection of current (2022) research and developments.

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Exact results for duality-covariant integrated correlators in $\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM with general classical gauge groups

We present exact expressions for certain integrated correlators of four superconformal primary operators in the stress tensor multiplet of $\mathcal{N}=4$ supersymmetric Yang--Mills (SYM) theory with classical gauge group, $G_N$ $= SO(2N)$, $SO(2N+1)$, $USp(2N)$. These integrated correlators are expressed as two-dimensional lattice sums by considering derivatives of the localised partition functions, generalising the expression obtained for $SU(N)$ in our previous works. These expressions are manifestly covariant under Goddard-Nuyts-Olive duality. The integrated correlators can also be formally written as infinite sums of non-holomorphic Eisenstein series with integer indices and rational coefficients. Furthermore, the action of the hyperbolic Laplace operator with respect to the complex coupling $τ=θ/(2π) + 4πi /g^2_{_{YM}}$ on any integrated correlator for gauge group $G_N$ relates it to a linear combination of correlators with gauge groups $G_{N+1}$, $G_N$ and $G_{N-1}$. These "Laplace-difference equation" determine the expressions of integrated correlators for all classical gauge groups for any value of $N$ in terms of the correlator for the gauge group $SU(2)$. The perturbation expansions of these integrated correlators for any finite value of $N$ agree with properties obtained from perturbative Yang--Mills quantum field theory, together with various multi-instanton calculations which are also shown to agree with those determined by supersymmetric localisation. The coefficients of terms in the large-$N$ expansion are sums of non-holomorphic Eisenstein series with half-integer indices, which extend recent results and make contact with low order terms in the low energy expansion of type IIB superstring theory in an $AdS_5\times S^5/\mathbb{Z}_2$ background.

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Integrated correlators in $\mathcal{N}=4$ super Yang-Mills and periods

We study perturbative aspects of recently proposed integrated four-point correlators in $\mathcal{N}=4$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills with all classical gauge groups using standard Feynman diagram computations. We argue that perturbative contributions of the integrated correlators are given by linear combinations of periods of certain conformal Feynman graphs, which were originally introduced for the construction of perturbative loop integrands of the un-integrated correlator. This observation allows us to evaluate the integrated correlators to high loop orders. We explicitly compute one of the integrated correlators up to four loops in the planar limit, and up to three loops for the other integrated correlator, and find agreement with the results obtained from supersymmetric localisation. The identification between the integrated correlators and certain periods also implies non-trivial relations among these periods, given that one may compute the integrated correlators using localisation. We illustrate this idea by considering one of the integrated correlators at five loops in the planar limit, where the localisation result leads to a prediction for the period of a certain six-loop integral.

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Kinematic Hopf Algebra for BCJ Numerators in Heavy-Mass Effective Field Theory and Yang-Mills Theory

We present a closed formula for all Bern-Carrasco-Johansson (BCJ) numerators describing $D$-dimensional tree-level scattering amplitudes in a heavy-mass effective field theory with two massive particles and an arbitrary number of gluons. The corresponding gravitational amplitudes obtained via the double copy directly enter the computation of black-hole scattering and gravitational-wave emission. Our construction is based on finding a kinematic algebra for the numerators, which we relate to a quasi-shuffle Hopf algebra. The BCJ numerators thus obtained have a compact form and intriguing features: gauge invariance is manifest, locality is respected for massless exchange, and they contain poles corresponding to massive exchange. Counting the number of terms in a BCJ numerator for $n{-}2$ gluons gives the Fubini numbers $\mathsf{F}_{n-3}$, reflecting the underlying quasi-shuffle Hopf algebra structure. Finally, by considering an appropriate factorisation limit, the massive particles decouple, and we thus obtain a kinematic algebra and all tree-level BCJ numerators for $D$-dimensional pure Yang-Mills theory.

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The orthogonal momentum amplituhedron and ABJM amplitudes

In this paper, we introduce the momentum space amplituhedron for tree-level scattering amplitudes of ABJM theory. We demonstrate that the scattering amplitude can be identified as the canonical form on the space given by the product of positive orthogonal Grassmannian and the moment curve. The co-dimension one boundaries of this space are simply the odd-particle planar Mandelstam variables, while the even-particle counterparts are "hidden" as higher co-dimension boundaries. Remarkably, this space can be equally defined through a series of "sign flip" requirements of the projected external data, identical to "half" of four-dimensional $\mathcal{N}=4$ super Yang-Mills theory (sYM). Thus in a precise sense the geometry for ABJM lives on the boundary of $\mathcal{N}=4$ sYM. We verify this relation through eight-points by showing that the BCFW triangulation of the amplitude tiles the amplituhedron. The canonical form is naturally derived using the Grassmannian formula for the amplitude in the $\mathcal{N}=4$ formalism for ABJM theory.

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Classical gravitational scattering from a gauge-invariant double copy

We propose a method to compute the scattering angle for classical black hole scattering directly from two massive particle irreducible diagrams in a heavy-mass effective field theory approach to general relativity, without the need of subtracting iteration terms. The amplitudes in this effective theory are constructed using a recently proposed novel colour-kinematic/double copy for tree-level two-scalar, multi-graviton amplitudes, where the BCJ numerators are gauge invariant and local with respect to the massless gravitons. These tree amplitudes, together with graviton tree amplitudes, enter the construction of the required $D$-dimensional loop integrands and allow for a direct extraction of contributions relevant for classical physics. In particular the soft/heavy-mass expansions of full integrands is circumvented, and all iterating contributions can be dropped from the get go. We use this method to compute the scattering angle up to third post-Minkowskian order in four dimensions, including radiation reaction contributions, also providing the expression of the corresponding integrand in $D$ dimensions.

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Exact expressions for $n$-point maximal $U(1)_Y$-violating integrated correlators in $SU(N)$ $\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM

The exact expressions for integrated maximal $U(1)_Y$ violating (MUV) $n$-point correlators in $SU(N)$ ${\mathcal N}=4$ supersymmetric Yang--Mills theory are determined. The analysis generalises previous results on the integrated correlator of four superconformal primaries and is based on supersymmetric localisation. The integrated correlators are functions of $N$ and $τ=θ/(2π)+4πi/g_{_{YM}}^2$, and are expressed as two-dimensional lattice sums that are modular forms with holomorphic and anti-holomorphic weights $(w,-w)$ where $w=n-4$. The correlators satisfy Laplace-difference equations that relate the $SU(N+1)$, $SU(N)$ and $SU(N-1)$ expressions and generalise the equations previously found in the $w=0$ case. The correlators can be expressed as infinite sums of Eisenstein modular forms of weight $(w,-w)$. For any fixed value of $N$ the perturbation expansion of this correlator is found to start at order $( g_{_{YM}}^2 N)^w$. The contributions of Yang--Mills instantons of charge $k>0$ are of the form $q^k\, f(g_{_{YM}})$, where $q=e^{2πi τ}$ and $f(g_{_{YM}})= O(g_{_{YM}}^{-2w})$ when $g_{_{YM}}^2 \ll 1$. Anti-instanton contributions have charge $k<0$ and are of the form $\bar q^{|k|} \, \hat f(g_{_{YM}})$, where $\hat f(g_{_{YM}}) = O(g_{_{YM}}^{2w})$ when $g_{_{YM}}^2 \ll 1$. Properties of the large-$N$ expansion are in agreement with expectations based on the low energy expansion of flat-space type IIB superstring amplitudes. We also comment on the identification of $n$-point free-field MUV correlators with the integrands of $(n-4)$-loop perturbative contributions to the four-point correlator. In particular, we emphasise the important rôle of $SL(2, \mathbb{Z})$-covariance in the construction.

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Notes on gravity multiplet correlators in $AdS_3 \times S^3$

We present a compact formula in Mellin space for the four-point tree-level holographic correlators of chiral primary operators of arbitrary conformal weights in $(2,0)$ supergravity on $AdS_3 \times S^3$, with two operators in tensor multiplet and the other two in gravity multiplet. This is achieved by solving the recursion relation arising from a hidden six-dimensional conformal symmetry. We note the compact expression is obtained after carefully analysing the analytic structures of the correlators. Various limits of the correlators are studied, including the maximally R-symmetry violating limit and flat-space limit.

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A new gauge-invariant double copy for heavy-mass effective theory

We propose a new form of the colour-kinematics/double-copy duality for heavy-mass effective field theories, which we apply to construct compact expressions for tree amplitudes with heavy matter particles in Yang-Mills and in gravity to leading order in the mass. In this set-up, the new BCJ numerators are fixed uniquely and directly written in terms of field strengths, making gauge invariance manifest. Furthermore, they are local and automatically satisfy the Jacobi relations and crossing symmetry. We construct these BCJ numerators explicitly up to six particles. We also discuss relations of the BCJ numerators in the heavy-mass effective theory with those in pure Yang-Mills amplitudes.

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Exact properties of an integrated correlator in $\mathcal{N}=4$ $SU(N)$ SYM

We present a novel expression for an integrated correlation function of four superconformal primaries in $SU(N)$ $\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM. This integrated correlator, which is based on supersymmetric localisation, has been the subject of several recent developments. The correlator is re-expressed as a sum over a two dimensional lattice that is valid for all $N$ and all values of the complex Yang-Mills coupling $τ$. In this form it is manifestly invariant under $SL(2,\mathbb{Z})$ Montonen-Olive duality. Furthermore, it satisfies a remarkable Laplace-difference equation that relates the $SU(N)$ to the $SU(N+1)$ and $SU(N-1)$ correlators. For any fixed value of $N$ the correlator is an infinite series of non-holomorphic Eisenstein series, $E(s;τ,\barτ)$ with $s\in \mathbb{Z}$, and rational coefficients. The perturbative expansion of the integrated correlator is asymptotic and the $n$-loop coefficient is a rational multiple of $ζ(2n+1)$. The $n=1$ and $n=2$ terms agree precisely with results determined directly by integrating the expressions in one- and two-loop perturbative SYM. Likewise, the charge-$k$ instanton contributions have an asymptotic, but Borel summable, series of perturbative corrections. The large-$N$ expansion of the correlator with fixed $τ$ is a series in powers of $N^{1/2-\ell}$ ($\ell\in \mathbb{Z}$) with coefficients that are rational sums of $E_s$ with $s\in \mathbb{Z}+1/2$. This gives an all orders derivation of the form of the recently conjectured expansion. We further consider 't Hooft large-$N$ Yang-Mills theory. The coefficient of each order can be expanded as a convergent series in $λ$. For large $λ$ this becomes an asymptotic series with coefficients that are again rational multiples of odd zeta values. The large-$λ$ series is not Borel summable, and its resurgent non-perturbative completion is $O(\exp(-2\sqrtλ))$.

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New Modular Invariants in $\mathcal{N}=4$ Super-Yang-Mills Theory

We study modular invariants arising in the four-point functions of the stress tensor multiplet operators of the ${\cal N} = 4$ $SU(N)$ super-Yang-Mills theory, in the limit where $N$ is taken to be large while the complexified Yang-Mills coupling $τ$ is held fixed. The specific four-point functions we consider are integrated correlators obtained by taking various combinations of four derivatives of the squashed sphere partition function of the ${\cal N} = 2^*$ theory with respect to the squashing parameter $b$ and mass parameter $m$, evaluated at the values $b=1$ and $m=0$ that correspond to the ${\cal N} = 4$ theory on a round sphere. At each order in the $1/N$ expansion, these fourth derivatives are modular invariant functions of $(τ, \bar τ)$. We present evidence that at half-integer orders in $1/N$, these modular invariants are linear combinations of non-holomorphic Eisenstein series, while at integer orders in $1/N$, they are certain "generalized Eisenstein series" which satisfy inhomogeneous Laplace eigenvalue equations on the hyperbolic plane. These results reproduce known features of the low-energy expansion of the four-graviton amplitude in type IIB superstring theory in ten-dimensional flat space and have interesting implications for the structure of the analogous expansion in $AdS_5\times S^5$.

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A novel representation of an integrated correlator in $\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM theory

An integrated correlator of four superconformal stress-tensor primaries of $\mathcal{N}=4$ supersymmetric $SU(N)$ Yang-Mills theory (SYM), originally obtained by localisation, is re-expressed as a two-dimensional lattice sum that is manifestly invariant under $SL(2,\mathbb{Z})$ S-duality. This expression is shown to satisfy a novel Laplace equation in the complex coupling constant $τ$ that relates the $SU(N)$ integrated correlator to those of the $SU(N+1)$ and $SU(N-1)$ theories. The lattice sum is shown to precisely reproduce known perturbative and non-perturbative properties of $\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM for any finite $N$, as well as extending previously conjectured properties of the large-$N$ expansion.

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