arXiv subjects

Congkao Wen

Publications and source records attributed to Congkao Wen.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

arXiv2014

More on Soft Theorems: Trees, Loops and Strings

We study soft theorems in a broader context, addressing their fate at loop level and their universality in effective field theories and string theory. We argue that for gauge theories in the planar limit, loop-level soft gluon theorems can be made manifest already at the integrand level. In particular, we show that the planar integrand for N=4 SYM satisfies the tree-level soft theorem to all orders in perturbation theory and provide strong evidence to this effect for integrands in N<4 SYM. We consider soft theorems for non-supersymmetric Yang-Mills theories and gravity, and show the validity of integrand soft theorem, while loop corrections to the integrated soft theorems are intimately tied to the presence of conformal anomalies. We then address the question of universality of the soft theorems for various theories. In effective field theories with F^3 and R^3 interactions, the soft theorems are not modified. However for gravity theories with R^2 phi interactions, the sub-sub-leading order soft graviton theorem, which is beyond what is implied by the extended BMS symmetry, requires modifications at tree level for non-supersymmetric theories, and at loop level for N<5 supergravity due to anomalies. Finally, for superstring amplitudes at finite alpha', via explicit calculation for lower-point examples as well as world-sheet OPE analysis for arbitrary multiplicity, we show that the superstring amplitudes satisfy the same soft theorem as its field-theory counterpart. This is no longer true for bosonic closed strings due to the presence of R^2 phi interactions.

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arXiv2014

Loop Corrections to Soft Theorems in Gauge Theories and Gravity

In this paper, we study loop corrections to the recently proposed new soft theorem of Cachazo-Strominger, for both gravity and gauge theory amplitudes. We first review the proof of its tree-level validity based on BCFW recursion relations, which also establishes an infinite series of universals soft functions for MHV amplitudes, and a generalization to supersymmetric cases. For loop corrections, we focus on infrared finite, rational amplitudes at one loop, and apply recursion relations with boundary or double-pole contributions. For all-plus amplitudes, we prove that the subleading soft-theorems are exact to all multiplicities for both gauge and gravity amplitudes. For single-minus amplitudes, while the subleading soft-theorems are again exact for the minus-helicity soft leg, for plus-helicity loop corrections are required. Using recursion relations, we identify the source of such mismatch as stemming from the special contribution containing double poles, and obtain the all-multiplicity one-loop corrections to the subleading soft behavior in Yang-Mills theory. We also comment on the derivation of soft theorems using BCFW recursion in arbitrary dimensions.

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arXiv2014

On super form factors of half-BPS operators in N=4 super Yang-Mills

We compute form factors of half-BPS operators in N=4 super Yang-Mills dual to massive Kaluza-Klein modes in supergravity. These are appropriate supersymmetrisations T_k of the scalar operators Tr(ϕ^k) for any k, which for k=2 give the chiral part of the stress-tensor multiplet operator. Using harmonic superspace, we derive simple Ward identities for these form factors, which we then compute perturbatively at tree level and one loop. We propose a novel on-shell recursion relation which links form factors with different numbers of fields. Using this, we conjecture a general formula for the n-point MHV form factors of T_k for arbitrary k and n. Finally, we use supersymmetric generalised unitarity to derive compact expressions for all one-loop MHV form factors of T_k in terms of one-loop triangles and finite two-mass easy box functions.

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arXiv2014

The last of the simple remainders

We compute the n-point two-loop form factors of the half-BPS operators Tr(phi_{AB}^n) in N=4 super Yang-Mills for arbitrary n >2 using generalised unitarity and symbols. These form factors are minimal in the sense that the n^{th} power of the scalar field in the operator requires the presence of at least n on-shell legs. Infrared divergences are shown to exponentiate as for amplitudes, reproducing the known cusp and collinear anomalous dimensions at two loops. We define appropriate infrared-finite remainder functions and compute them analytically for all n. The results obtained by using the known expressions of the integral functions involve complicated combinations of Goncharov multiple polylogarithms, but we show that much simpler expressions can in fact be derived using the symbol of transcendental functions. For n=3 we find a very compact remainder function expressed in terms of classical polylogarithms only. For arbitrary n>3 we are able to write all the remainder functions in terms of a single compact building block, expressed as a sum of classical polylogarithms augmented by two multiple polylogarithms. The decomposition of the symbol into specific components is crucial in order to single out a natural combination of multiple polylogarithms. Finally, we analyse in detail the behaviour of these minimal form factors in collinear and soft limits, which deviates from the usual behaviour of amplitudes and non-minimal form factors.

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arXiv2014

Simplifying instanton corrections to N=4 SYM correlators

We compute instanton corrections to non-minimal correlation functions of chiral primary operators in the N=4 super Yang-Mills super-current multiplet. Using a representation in terms of Mellin integrals, we find that these corrections can be written as conformal integrals in AdS_5 times certain "kinematic" prefactors that are independent of the instanton moduli. We then consider the consecutive, pairwise light-like limit x_{i, i+1}^2 -> 0 of such correlators, and prove that the ratio between the instanton contribution and the corresponding tree-level expression vanishes in this limit. We also speculate on the extension to the non-perturbative level of the proposed duality with polygonal Wilson loops and briefly discuss its potential implications for scattering amplitudes.

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arXiv2014

The Positive orthogonal Grassmannian and loop amplitudes of ABJM

In this paper we study the combinatorics associated with the positive orthogonal Grassmannian OG_k and its connection to ABJM scattering amplitudes. We present a canonical embedding of OG_k into the Grassmannian Gr(k,2k), from which we deduce the canonical volume form that is invariant under equivalence moves. Remarkably the canonical forms of all reducible graphs can be converted into irreducible ones with products of dLog forms. Unlike N=4 super Yang-Mills, here the Jacobian plays a crucial role to ensure the dLog form of the reduced representation. Furthermore, we identify the functional map that arises from the triangle equivalence move as a 3-string scattering S-matrix which satisfies the tetrahedron equations by Zamolodchikov, implying (2+1)-dimensional integrability. We study the solution to the BCFW recursion relation for loop amplitudes, and demonstrate the presence of all physical singularities as well as the absence of all spurious ones. The on-shell diagram solution to the loop recursion relation exhibits manifest two-site cyclic symmetry and reveals that, to all loop, four and six-point amplitudes only have logarithmic singularities.

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arXiv2013

On the refined counting of graphs on surfaces

Ribbon graphs embedded on a Riemann surface provide a useful way to describe the double line Feynman diagrams of large N computations and a variety of other QFT correlator and scattering amplitude calculations, e.g in MHV rules for scattering amplitudes, as well as in ordinary QED. Their counting is a special case of the counting of bi-partite embedded graphs. We review and extend relevant mathematical literature and present results on the counting of some infinite classes of bi-partite graphs. Permutation groups and representations as well as double cosets and quotients of graphs are useful mathematical tools. The counting results are refined according to data of physical relevance, such as the structure of the vertices, faces and genus of the embedded graph. These counting problems can be expressed in terms of observables in three-dimensional topological field theory with S_d gauge group which gives them a topological membrane interpretation.

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arXiv2012

Generating All Tree Amplitudes in N=4 SYM by Inverse Soft Limit

The idea of adding particles to construct amplitudes has been utilized in various ways in exploring the structure of scattering amplitudes. This idea is often called Inverse Soft Limit, namely it is the reverse mechanism of taking particles to be soft. We apply the Inverse Soft Limit to the tree-level amplitudes in $\mathcal{N}=4$ super Yang-Mills theory, which allows us to generate full tree-level superamplitudes by adding "soft" particles in a certain way. With the help from Britto-Cachazo-Feng-Witten recursion relations, a systematic and concrete way of adding particles is determined recursively. The amplitudes constructed solely by adding particles not only have manifest Yangian symmetry, but also make the soft limit transparent. The method of generating amplitudes by Inverse Soft Limit can also be generalized for constructing form factors.

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arXiv2012

A note on amplitudes in N=6 superconformal Chern-Simons theory

We establish a connection between tree-level superamplitudes in ABJM theory and leading singularities associated to special three-particle cuts of one-loop superamplitudes where one of the tree amplitudes entering the cut is a four-point amplitude. Using these relations, we show that certain intriguing similarities between one-loop and tree-level superamplitudes observed recently become completely manifest. This connection is reminiscent of a similar relation in the maximally supersymmetric gauge theory in four dimensions, where the sum of two-mass hard and one-mass box coefficients of a one-loop amplitude equals the corresponding tree-level amplitude. As an application, we present a very simple re-derivation of the six-point superamplitude and calculate the eight-point superamplitude at one loop in ABJM theory.

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arXiv2012

All one-loop amplitudes in N=6 superconformal Chern-Simons theory

We exploit a recently found connection between special triple-cut diagrams and tree-level recursive diagrams to derive a general formula capturing the multi-particle factorisation of arbitrary one-loop amplitudes in the ABJM theory. This formula contains certain anomalous contributions which are reminiscent of the so-called non-factorising contributions appearing in the factorisation of one-loop amplitudes in four-dimensional gauge theory. In the second part of the paper we derive a recursion relation for the supercoefficients of one-loop amplitudes in ABJM theory. By applying this recursion relation, any one-loop supercoefficient can be reduced to special triple-cut diagrams involving at least one four-point tree amplitude. In turn, this implies that any one-loop supercoefficient can be derived from tree-level recursive diagrams.

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arXiv2012

On Feynman rules for Mellin amplitudes in AdS/CFT

The computation of CFT correlation functions via Witten diagrams in AdS space can be simplified via the Mellin transform. Recently a set of Feynman rules for tree-level Mellin space amplitudes has been proposed for scalar theories. In this note we derive these rules by explicitly evaluating all of the relevant Witten diagram integrals for the scalar phi^n theory. We also check that the rules reduce to the usual Feynman rules in the flat space limit.

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arXiv2010

Note on Bonus Relations for N=8 Supergravity Tree Amplitudes

We study the application of non-trivial relations between gravity tree amplitudes, the bonus relations, to all tree-level amplitudes in N=8 supergravity. We show that the relations can be used to simplify explicit formulae of supergravity tree amplitudes, by reducing the known form as a sum of (n-2)! permutations obtained by solving on-shell recursion relations, to a new form as a (n-3)!-permutation sum. We demonstrate the simplification by explicit calculations of the next-to-maximally helicity violating (NMHV) and next-to-next-to-maximally helicity violating (N^2MHV) amplitudes, and provide a general pattern of bonus coefficients for all tree-level amplitudes.

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arXiv2010

The Grassmannian and the Twistor String: Connecting All Trees in N=4 SYM

We present a new, explicit formula for all tree-level amplitudes in N=4 super Yang-Mills. The formula is written as a certain contour integral of the connected prescription of Witten's twistor string, expressed in link variables. A very simple deformation of the integrand gives directly the Grassmannian integrand proposed by Arkani-Hamed et al. together with the explicit contour of integration. The integral is derived by iteratively adding particles to the Grassmannian integral, one particle at a time, and makes manifest both parity and soft limits. The formula is shown to be related to those given by Dolan and Goddard, and generalizes the results of earlier work for NMHV and N^2MHV to all N^(k-2)MHV tree amplitudes in N=4 super Yang-Mills.

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arXiv2009

A Grassmannian Etude in NMHV Minors

Arkani-Hamed, Cachazo, Cheung and Kaplan have proposed a Grassmannian formulation for the S-matrix of N=4 Yang-Mills as an integral over link variables. In parallel work, the connected prescription for computing tree amplitudes in Witten's twistor string theory has also been written in terms of link variables. In this paper we extend the six- and seven-point results of arXiv:0909.0229 and arXiv:0909.0499 by providing a simple analytic proof of the equivalence between the two formulas for all tree-level NMHV superamplitudes. Also we note that a simple deformation of the connected prescription integrand gives directly the ACCK Grassmannian integrand in the limit when the deformation parameters equal zero.

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arXiv2009

The Tree Formula for MHV Graviton Amplitudes

We present and prove a formula for the MHV scattering amplitude of n gravitons at tree level. Some of the more interesting features of the formula, which set it apart as being significantly different from many more familiar formulas, include the absence of any vestigial reference to a cyclic ordering of the gravitons--making it in a sense a truly gravitational formula, rather than a recycled Yang-Mills result, and the fact that it simultaneously manifests both S_{n-2} symmetry as well as large-z behavior that is O(1/z^2) term-by-term, without relying on delicate cancellations. The formula is seemingly related to others by an enormous simplification provided by O(n^n) iterated Schouten identities, but our proof relies on a complex analysis argument rather than such a brute force manipulation. We find that the formula has a very simple link representation in twistor space, where cancellations that are non-obvious in physical space become manifest.

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arXiv2009

Three Applications of a Bonus Relation for Gravity Amplitudes

Arkani-Hamed et. al. have recently shown that all tree-level scattering amplitudes in maximal supergravity exhibit exceptionally soft behavior when two supermomenta are taken to infinity in a particular complex direction, and that this behavior implies new non-trivial relations amongst amplitudes in addition to the well-known on-shell recursion relations. We consider the application of these new bonus relations to MHV amplitudes, showing that they can be used quite generally to relate (n-2)!-term formulas typically obtained from recursion relations to (n-3)!-term formulas related to the original BGK conjecture. Specifically we provide (1) a direct proof of a formula presented by Elvang and Freedman, (2) a new formula based on one due to Bedford et. al., and (3) an alternate proof of a formula recently obtained by Mason and Skinner. Our results also provide the first direct proof that the conjectured BGK formula, only very recently proven via completely different methods, satisfies the on-shell recursion.

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arXiv2009

Correlation Functions in Non-Relativistic Holography

Recently constructed gravity solutions with Schrodinger symmetry provide a new example of AdS/CFT-type dualities for the type of non-relativistic field theories relevant to certain cold atom systems. In this paper we use the gravity side to calculate n-point correlation functions of scalar fields by reducing the computation to that in ordinary AdS space via a particular Fourier transform. We evaluate the relevant integrals for 3- and 4-point functions and show that the results are consistent with the requirements of Schrodinger invariance, the implications of which we also work out for general n-point functions.

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arXiv2008

Three-Loop Leading Singularities and BDS Ansatz for Five Particles

We use the leading singularity technique to determine the planar three-loop five-particle amplitude in N=4 super Yang-Mills in terms of a simple basis of integrals. We analytically compute the integral coefficients for both the parity-even and the parity-odd parts of the amplitude. The parity-even part involves only dual conformally invariant integrals. Using the method of obstructions we numerically evaluate two previously unfixed coefficients which appear in the three-loop BDS ansatz.

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