arXiv subjects

Livia Ferro

Publications and source records attributed to Livia Ferro.

27 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2016

Tree-level scattering amplitudes from the amplituhedron

A central problem in quantum field theory is the computation of scattering amplitudes. However, traditional methods are impractical to calculate high order phenomenologically relevant observables. Building on a few decades of astonishing progress in developing non-standard computational techniques, it has been recently conjectured that amplitudes in planar N=4 super Yang-Mills are given by the volume of the (dual) amplituhedron. After providing an introduction to the subject at tree-level, we discuss a special class of differential equations obeyed by the corresponding volume forms. In particular, we show how they fix completely the amplituhedron volume for next-to-maximally helicity violating scattering amplitudes.

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arXiv2016

Towards the Amplituhedron Volume

It has been recently conjectured that scattering amplitudes in planar N=4 super Yang-Mills are given by the volume of the (dual) amplituhedron. In this paper we show some interesting connections between the tree-level amplituhedron and a special class of differential equations. In particular we demonstrate how the amplituhedron volume for NMHV amplitudes is determined by these differential equations. The new formulation allows for a straightforward geometric description, without any reference to triangulations. Finally we discuss possible implications for volumes related to generic N^kMHV amplitudes.

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arXiv2014

N=4 Scattering Amplitudes and the Deformed Grassmannian

Some time ago the general tree-level scattering amplitudes of N=4 Super Yang-Mills theory were expressed as certain Grassmannian contour integrals. These remarkable formulas allow to clearly expose the super-conformal, dual super-conformal, and Yangian symmetries of the amplitudes. Using ideas from integrability it was recently shown that the building blocks of the amplitudes permit a natural multi-parameter deformation. However, this approach had been criticized by the observation that it seemed impossible to reassemble the building blocks into Yangian-invariant deformed non-MHV amplitudes. In this note we demonstrate that the deformations may be succinctly summarized by a simple modification of the measure of the Grassmannian integrals, leading to a Yangian-invariant deformation of the general tree-level amplitudes. Interestingly, the deformed building-blocks appear as residues of poles in the spectral parameter planes. Given that the contour integrals also contain information on the amplitudes at loop-level, we expect the deformations to be useful there as well. In particular, applying meromorphicity arguments, they may be expected to regulate all notorious infrared divergences. We also point out relations to Gelfand hypergeometric functions and the quantum Knizhnik-Zamolodchikov equations.

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arXiv2013

Spectral Parameters for Scattering Amplitudes in N=4 Super Yang-Mills Theory

Planar N=4 Super Yang-Mills theory appears to be a quantum integrable four-dimensional conformal theory. This has been used to find equations believed to describe its exact spectrum of anomalous dimensions. Integrability seemingly also extends to the planar space-time scattering amplitudes of the N=4 model, which show strong signs of Yangian invariance. However, in contradistinction to the spectral problem, this has not yet led to equations determining the exact amplitudes. We propose that the missing element is the spectral parameter, ubiquitous in integrable models. We show that it may indeed be included into recent on-shell approaches to scattering amplitude integrands, providing a natural deformation of the latter. Under some constraints, Yangian symmetry is preserved. Finally we speculate that the spectral parameter might also be the regulator of choice for controlling the infrared divergences appearing when integrating the integrands in exactly four dimensions.

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arXiv2013

Harmonic R-matrices for Scattering Amplitudes and Spectral Regularization

Planar N=4 super Yang-Mills appears to be integrable. While this allows to find this theory's exact spectrum, integrability has hitherto been of no direct use for scattering amplitudes. To remedy this, we deform all scattering amplitudes by a spectral parameter. The deformed tree-level four-point function turns out to be essentially the one-loop R-matrix of the integrable N=4 spin chain satisfying the Yang-Baxter equation. Deformed on-shell three-point functions yield novel three-leg R-matrices satisfying bootstrap equations. Finally, we supply initial evidence that the spectral parameter might find its use as a novel symmetry-respecting regulator replacing dimensional regularization. Its physical meaning is a local deformation of particle helicity, a fact which might be useful for a much larger class of non-integrable four-dimensional field theories.

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arXiv2010

Interplay between Background Fluxes and Instanton Configurations

We focus on D-brane models in presence of closed string background fluxes. These fluxes modify the effective interactions on Dirichlet and Euclidean branes, in particular inducing fermionic masses. We show how they can create new non-perturbative superpotential terms in presence of gauge and exotic instantons in SQCD-like models.

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arXiv2009

Applications of String Theory: Non-perturbative Effects in Flux Compactifications and Effective Description of Statistical Systems

In this paper, which is a revised version of the author's PhD thesis, we analyze two different applications of string theory. In the first part, we focus on four dimensional compactifications of Type II string theories preserving N=1 supersymmetry, in presence of intersecting or magnetized D-branes. We show, through world-sheet methods, how the insertion of closed string background fluxes may modify the effective interactions on Dirichlet and Euclidean branes. In particular, we compute flux-induced fermionic masses. The generality of our results is exploited to determine the soft terms of the action on the instanton moduli space. Finally, we investigate how fluxes create new non-perturbative superpotential terms in presence of gauge and stringy instantons in SQCD-like models. The second part is devoted to the description of statistical systems through effective string models. In particular, we focus our attention on (d-1)-dimensional interfaces, present in particular statistical systems defined on compact d-dimensional spaces. We compute their exact partition function by resorting to standard covariant quantization of the Nambu-Goto theory, and we compare it with Monte Carlo data. Then, we propose an effective model to describe interfaces in 2d space and test it against the dimensional reduction of the Nambu-Goto description of the 2d interface.

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arXiv2009

Exotic instanton counting and heterotic/type I' duality

We compute the partition function for the exotic instanton system corresponding to D-instantons on D7 branes in Type I' theory. We exploit the BRST structure of the moduli action and its deformation by RR background to fully localize the integration. The resulting prepotential describes non-perturbative corrections to the quartic couplings of the gauge field F living on the D7's. The results match perfectly those obtained in the dual heterotic theory from a protected 1-loop computation, thus providing a non-trivial test of the duality itself.

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arXiv2008

Flux interactions on D-branes and instantons

We provide a direct world-sheet derivation of the couplings of NS-NS and R-R fluxes to various types of D-branes (including instantonic ones) by evaluating disk amplitudes among two open string vertex operators at a generic brane intersection and one closed string vertex representing the background fluxes. This world-sheet approach is in full agreement with the derivation of the flux couplings in the brane effective actions based on supergravity methods, but it is applicable also to more general brane configurations involving fields with twisted boundary conditions. As an application, we consider an orbifold compactification of Type IIB string theory with fractional D-branes preserving N=1 supersymmetry and study the flux-induced fermionic mass terms both on space-filling branes and on instantonic ones. Our results show the existence of a relation between the soft supersymmetry breaking and the lifting of some instanton fermionic zero-modes, which may lead to new types of non-perturbative couplings in brane-world models.

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