arXiv subjects

Lance J. Dixon

Publications and source records attributed to Lance J. Dixon.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Eight loop form factors, amplitudes and patterns in planar $\mathcal{N}=4$ super-Yang-Mills theory

The simplest nontrivial amplitude in planar $\mathcal{N}=4$ super-Yang-Mills theory is six-gluon scattering in the maximally-helicity-violating configuration. It has been computed to 8 loops with the help of antipodal duality, which relates it to the three-point form factor of a protected operator, the chiral stress tensor super-multiplet, represented also as ${\rm tr} ϕ^2$. In this talk, we describe the computation to 8 loops of another three-point form factor, for the operator ${\rm tr}ϕ^3$. This form factor lives in the same restricted space of polylogarithms as the ${\rm tr}ϕ^2$ form factor. We also report on all-order patterns for sequences of coefficients in the symbols of these polylogarithmic results, for the leading discontinuity of the ${\rm tr}ϕ^3$ form factor.

hep-th↗

arXiv2026

Multi-Loop Negative Geometries

Scattering amplitudes in planar ${\cal N}=4$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory are dual to expectation values of null polygonal Wilson loops. The Amplituhedron provides a geometric construction for the all-loop integrand as the canonical form on the geometric region in the Grassmannian defined by a certain set of inequalities. For a closely related object, the logarithm of the scattering amplitude, the integrand is reproduced in a similar way using negative geometries. When integrated over all loop momenta except one, the result is infrared (IR) finite and equal to the expectation value of a certain Wilson loop with a Lagrangian insertion. At four points, this quantity, ${\cal F}(g,z)$ only depends on a single cross ratio $z$ and the 't Hooft coupling $g$. At weak coupling, it is known up to three loops from perturbative Wilson loop computations and at strong coupling through the AdS/CFT correspondence at leading order. In this paper, we explore this object further through the lens of the Amplituhedron and negative geometries, which provide very natural IR finite building blocks. We perform an explicit three-loop computation of all negative geometries and show that the number of internal cycles in the diagram is closely linked to the depth of polylogarithms. We calculate the cusp anomalous dimension $Γ_{\rm cusp}$ by integrating ${\cal F}(g,z)$ over $z$. We show that the higher-cycle diagrams are suppressed if we consider separate odd and even zeta contributions. Furthermore, we focus on certain convergent infinite series of one-cycle diagrams, perform all-loop order resummations of such contributions, and discuss various features of the result.

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arXiv2026

A Two-Loop Four-Point Form Factor at Function Level

Recently, the maximally-helicity-violating four-point form factor for the chiral stress-energy tensor in planar $\mathcal{N}=4$ super Yang-Mills was computed to three loops at the level of the symbol associated with multiple polylogarithms. It exhibits {\it antipodal self-duality}, or invariance under the combined action of a kinematic map and reversing the ordering of letters in the symbol. Here we lift the two-loop form factor from symbol level to function level. We provide an iterated representation of the function's derivatives (coproducts). In order to do so, we find a three-parameter limit of the five-parameter phase space where the symbol's letters are all rational. We also use function-level information about dihedral symmetries and the soft, collinear, and factorization limits, as well as limits governed by the form-factor operator product expansion (FFOPE). We provide plots of the remainder function on several kinematic slices, and show that the result is compatible with the FFOPE data. We further verify that antipodal self-duality is valid at two loops beyond the level of the symbol.

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arXiv2025

On gauge amplitudes first appearing at two loops

We study scattering amplitudes in massless non-abelian gauge theory where all outgoing gluons have positive helicity. It has been argued recently by Costello that for a particular fermion representation (8 fundamentals plus one antisymmetric-tensor representation in $SU(N)$) the one-loop amplitudes vanish identically. We show that this vanishing leads to previously-observed identities among one-loop color-ordered partial amplitudes. We then turn to two loops, where Costello has computed the all-plus amplitudes for this theory, as rational functions of the kinematics for any number of gluons using the celestial chiral algebra (CCA) bootstrap. We show that in dimensional regularization, these two-loop amplitudes are not rational, and they are not even finite as $ε\to0$. However, the finite remainder for four gluons agrees with the formula by Costello. In addition, we provide a mass regulator for the infrared-divergent loop integrals; with this regulator, the CCA bootstrap formula is recovered exactly. Finally, we use the CCA bootstrap to compute the double-trace terms in the theory at two loops for an arbitrary number of gluons.

hep-th↗

arXiv2025

Antipodal self-duality of square fishnet graphs

In strongly-deformed planar ${\cal N}=4$ super-Yang-Mills theory, or fishnet theory, a point-split single-trace correlation function of four dimension-$m$ scalar operators is given by a single Feynman integral, which involves integrating over locations of a $m\times m$ grid of points. We show that for any integer $m$ this square fishnet graph is invariant under the combined action of a kinematic map and the antipode map of the Hopf algebra on multiple polylogarithms, i.e. it possesses an antipodal self-duality.

hep-th↗

arXiv2025

Rational QCD loop amplitudes and quantum theories on twistor space

We show how curing an anomaly of the twistor uplift of self-dual Yang-Mills theory implies linear relations among one-loop, $n$-gluon, color-ordered subamplitudes in QCD, when all $n$ gluon helicities are positive, or when exactly one is negative. We compute the number of linearly independent subamplitudes as determined by these relations, in terms of unsigned Stirling numbers. Then we use a momentum-twistor parametrization to show that there are no further linear dependencies.

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arXiv2025

Recurrent Features of Amplitudes in Planar $\mathcal{N}=4$ Super Yang-Mills Theory

The planar three-gluon form factor for the chiral stress tensor operator in planar maximally supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory is an analog of the Higgs-to-three-gluon scattering amplitude in QCD. The amplitude (symbol) bootstrap program has provided a wealth of high-loop perturbative data about this form factor, with results up to eight loops available. The symbol of the form factor at $L$ loops is given by words of length $2L$ in six letters with associated integer coefficients. In this paper, we analyze this data, describing patterns of zero coefficients and relations between coefficients. We find many sequences of words whose coefficients are given by closed-form expressions which we expect to be valid at any loop order. Moreover, motivated by our previous machine-learning analysis, we identify simple recursion relations that relate the coefficient of a word to the coefficients of particular lower-loop words. These results open an exciting door for understanding scattering amplitudes at all loop orders.

hep-th↗

arXiv2024

Antipodal Self-Duality for a Four-Particle Form Factor

We bootstrap the symbol of the maximal-helicity-violating four-particle form factor for the chiral part of the stress-tensor supermultiplet in planar $\mathcal{N}=4$ super-Yang-Mills theory at two loops. When minimally normalized, this symbol involves only 34 letters and obeys the extended Steinmann relations in all partially-overlapping three-particle momentum channels. In addition, the remainder function for this form factor exhibits an antipodal self-duality: it is invariant under the combined operation of the antipodal map defined on multiple polylogarithms -- which reverses the order of the symbol letters -- and a simple kinematic map. This self-duality holds on a four-dimensional parity-preserving kinematic hypersurface. It implies the antipodal duality recently noticed between the three-particle form factor and the six-particle amplitude in this theory.

hep-th↗

arXiv2024

The Three-Point Form Factor of $\textrm{Tr}\,ϕ^3$ to Six Loops

We study the three-point form factor of the length-three half-BPS operator ($\textrm{Tr}\,ϕ^3$) in planar $\mathcal{N}=4$ Super-Yang-Mills theory, using analyticity and integrability methods. We find that the functions describing the form factor in perturbation theory live in the same restrictive space of multiple polylogarithms as the one describing the form factor of the stress-tensor operator ($\textrm{Tr}\,ϕ^2$). Furthermore, we find that the leading-order data in the collinear limit provided by the form factor operator product expansion (FFOPE) is enough to fix the form factor uniquely, at least through six loops. We perform various tests of our results using the subleading FFOPE corrections. We also analyze the form factor in the Regge limit where two Mandelstam invariants are large; we obtain a compact representation for the form factor in this limit which is valid to all orders in the coupling.

hep-th↗

arXiv2024

Transforming the Bootstrap: Using Transformers to Compute Scattering Amplitudes in Planar N = 4 Super Yang-Mills Theory

We pursue the use of deep learning methods to improve state-of-the-art computations in theoretical high-energy physics. Planar N = 4 Super Yang-Mills theory is a close cousin to the theory that describes Higgs boson production at the Large Hadron Collider; its scattering amplitudes are large mathematical expressions containing integer coefficients. In this paper, we apply Transformers to predict these coefficients. The problem can be formulated in a language-like representation amenable to standard cross-entropy training objectives. We design two related experiments and show that the model achieves high accuracy (> 98%) on both tasks. Our work shows that Transformers can be applied successfully to problems in theoretical physics that require exact solutions.

cs.LG↗

arXiv2024

Soft gluon emission at two loops in full color

The soft emission factor is a central ingredient in the factorization of generic $n$-particle gauge theory amplitudes with one soft gluon in the external state. We present the complete two-loop soft factor, capturing the leading power behavior in the soft-gluon momentum. At two loops, the color structure and the kinematic dependence of the soft factor become nontrivial as the soft gluon can couple to three hard partons for the first time (tripole terms). The nontrivial kinematic dependence of the tripole terms is of uniform, maximal transcendental weight, and can be expressed (in a "Euclidean" region) in terms of single-valued harmonic polylogarithms. Our results are consistent with the behavior of the recently computed symbol of the two-loop five-particle amplitude in $\mathcal{N}=4$ super-Yang-Mills theory. In the limit where the outgoing soft gluon is also collinear with an incoming hard parton, potentially dangerous factorization-violating terms can arise, but they cancel after summing over colors.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2023

An Eight Loop Amplitude via Antipodal Duality

We compute the six-particle maximally-helicity-violating (MHV) amplitude in planar ${\cal N}=4$ super-Yang-Mills theory at eight loops, using antipodal duality and the recently computed eight-loop three-point form factor for the chiral stress energy tensor multiplet. Antipodal duality maps the form factor symbol to the amplitude symbol on a two-dimensional parity-preserving surface in the three-dimensional amplitude kinematics. There are remarkably few ambiguities in lifting from two to three dimensions, nor in promoting the symbol to a function. The amplitude passes many tests, including near-collinear, multi-Regge, factorization, self-crossing and origin limits. These checks also constitute a validation of antipodal duality at eight loops.

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arXiv2023

An Origin Story for Amplitudes

We classify origin limits of maximally helicity violating multi-gluon scattering amplitudes in planar $\mathcal{N}=4$ super-Yang-Mills theory, where a large number of cross ratios approach zero, with the help of cluster algebras. By analyzing existing perturbative data, and bootstrapping new data, we provide evidence that the amplitudes become the exponential of a quadratic polynomial in the large logarithms. With additional input from the thermodynamic Bethe ansatz at strong coupling, we conjecture exact expressions for amplitudes with up to 8 gluons in all origin limits. Our expressions are governed by the tilted cusp anomalous dimension evaluated at various values of the tilt angle.

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arXiv2023

Bootstrapping a Stress-Tensor Form Factor through Eight Loops

We bootstrap the three-point form factor of the chiral stress-tensor multiplet in planar $\mathcal{N}=4$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory at six, seven, and eight loops, using boundary data from the form factor operator product expansion. This may represent the highest perturbative order to which multi-variate quantities in a unitary four-dimensional quantum field theory have been computed. In computing this form factor, we observe and employ new restrictions on pairs and triples of adjacent letters in the symbol. We provide details about the function space required to describe the form factor through eight loops. Plotting the results on various lines provides striking numerical evidence for a finite radius of convergence of perturbation theory. By the principle of maximal transcendentality, our results are expected to give the highest weight part of the $g g \rightarrow H g$ and $H \rightarrow ggg$ amplitudes in the heavy-top limit of QCD through eight loops. These results were also recently used to discover a new antipodal duality between this form factor and a six-point amplitude in the same theory.

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arXiv2023

The SAGEX Review on Scattering Amplitudes, Chapter 15: The Multi-Regge Limit

We review the Regge and multi-Regge limit of scattering amplitudes in gauge theory, focusing on QCD and its maximally supersymmetric cousin, planar ${\cal N}=4$ super-Yang-Mills theory. We identify the large logarithms that are developed in these limits, and the progress that has been made in resumming them, towards next-to-next-to-leading logarithms for BFKL evolution in QCD, as well as all-orders proposals in planar ${\cal N}=4$ super-Yang-Mills theory and the perturbative checks of those proposals. We also cover the application of single-valued multiple polylogarithms to this important kinematical limit of particle scattering.

hep-th↗

arXiv2023

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.

hep-th↗

arXiv2022

Solving Scattering in N=4 Super-Yang-Mills Theory

As part of the Snowmass community planning exercise, we highlight an ongoing program of research into the structure of scattering amplitudes in N=4 super-Yang-Mills theory, particularly in the planar limit of a large number of colors. This theory sits at the nexus of a number of exciting topics in high-energy particle physics, including the AdS/CFT correspondence, conformal field theory, integrability, and string theory, and is believed to be exactly solvable in four dimensions. In many ways, planar N=4 super-Yang-Mills theory is the "hydrogen atom" of relativistic scattering: It has proven indispensable for learning about new geometrical formulations of quantum field theory, for exploring mathematical properties at high perturbative orders, and for developing powerful new computational methods that have found applicability in precision collider physics.

hep-th↗

arXiv2022

One-loop central-emission vertex for two gluons in $\mathcal{N}=4$ super Yang-Mills theory

A necessary ingredient for extending the BFKL equation to next-to-next-to-leading logarithmic (NNLL) accuracy is the one-loop central emission vertex (CEV) for two gluons which are not strongly ordered in rapidity. Here we consider the one-loop six-gluon amplitude in $\mathcal{N}=4$ super Yang-Mills (SYM) theory in a central next-to-multi-Regge kinematic (NMRK) limit, we show that its dispersive part factorises in terms of the two-gluon CEV, and we use it to extract the one-loop two-gluon CEV for any helicity configuration within this theory. This is a component of the two-gluon CEV in QCD. Although computed in the NMRK limit, both the colour structure and the kinematic dependence of the two-gluon CEV capture much of the complexity of the six-gluon amplitudes in general kinematics. In fact, the transcendental functions of the latter can be conveniently written in terms of impact factors, trajectories, single-emission CEVs and a remainder, which is a function of the conformally invariant cross ratios which characterise the six-gluon amplitudes in planar $\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM. Finally, as expected, in the MRK limit the two-gluon CEV neatly factorises in terms of two single-emission CEVs.

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