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Mao Zeng

Publications and source records attributed to Mao Zeng.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
arXiv2023

Conservative Binary Dynamics with a Spinning Black Hole at $\mathcal{O}(G^3)$ from Scattering Amplitudes

We compute the conservative two-body Hamiltonian of a compact binary system with a spinning black hole through $\mathcal{O}(G^3)$ to all orders in velocity, including linear and quadratic spin terms. To obtain our results we calculate the classical limit of the two-loop amplitude for the scattering of a massive scalar particle with a massive spin-1 particle minimally coupled to gravity. We employ modern scattering amplitude and loop integration techniques, in particular numerical unitarity, integration-by-parts identities, and the method of regions. The conservative potential in terms of rest-frame spin vectors is extracted by matching to a non-relativistic effective field theory. We also apply the Kosower-Maybee-O'Connell (KMOC) formalism to calculate the impulse in the covariant spin formalism directly from the amplitude. We work systematically in conventional dimensional regularization and explicitly evaluate all divergent integrals that appear in full- and effective-theory amplitudes, as well as in the phase-space integrals that arise in the KMOC formalism.

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arXiv2023

Conservative binary dynamics at order $O(α^5)$ in electrodynamics

We compute the potential-photon contributions to the classical relativistic scattering angle of two charged non-spinning bodies in electrodynamics through fifth order in the coupling. We use the scattering amplitudes framework, effective field theory, and multi-loop integration techniques based on integration by parts and differential equations. At fifth order, the result is expressed in terms of cyclotomic polylogarithms. Our calculation demonstrates the feasibility of the corresponding calculations in general relativity, including the evaluation of the encountered four-loop integrals.

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arXiv2022

Snowmass White Paper: Gravitational Waves and Scattering Amplitudes

We review recent progress and future prospects for harnessing powerful tools from theoretical high-energy physics, such as scattering amplitudes and effective field theory, to develop a precise and systematically improvable framework for calculating gravitational-wave signals from binary systems composed of black holes and/or neutron stars. This effort aims to provide state-of-the-art predictions that will enable high-precision measurements at future gravitational-wave detectors. In turn, applying the tools of quantum field theory in this new arena will uncover theoretical structures that can transform our understanding of basic phenomena and lead to new tools that will further the cycle of innovation. While still in a nascent stage, this research direction has already derived new analytic results in general relativity, and promises to advance the development of highly accurate waveform models for ever more sensitive detectors.

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arXiv2021

Scalar QED as a toy model for higher-order effects in classical gravitational scattering

Quantum Electrodynamics (QED) serves as a useful toy model for classical observables in gravitational two-body systems with reduced complexity due to the linearity of QED. We investigate scattering observables in scalar QED at the sixth order in the charges (two-loop order) in a classical regime analogous to the post-Minkowskian expansion in General Relativity. We employ modern scattering amplitude tools and extract classical observables by both eikonal methods and the formalism of Kosower, Maybee, and O'Connell (KMOC). In addition, we provide a simplified approach to extracting the radial action beyond the conservative sector.

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arXiv2021

Scattering Amplitudes, the Tail Effect, and Conservative Binary Dynamics at $O(G^4)$

We complete the calculation of conservative two-body scattering dynamics at fourth post-Minkowskian order, i.e. $O(G^4)$ and all orders in velocity, including radiative contributions corresponding to the tail effect in general relativity. As in previous calculations, we harness powerful tools from the modern scattering amplitudes program including generalized unitarity, the double copy, and advanced multiloop integration methods, in combination with effective field theory. The classical amplitude involves complete elliptic integrals, and polylogarithms with up to transcendental weight two. Using the amplitude-action relation, we obtain the radial action directly from the amplitude, and match the known overlapping terms in the post-Newtonian expansion.

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arXiv2021

Scattering Amplitudes and Conservative Binary Dynamics at ${\cal O}(G^4)$

Using scattering amplitudes, we obtain the potential contributions to conservative binary dynamics in general relativity at fourth post-Minkowskian order, ${\cal O}(G^4)$. As in previous lower-order calculations, we harness powerful tools from the modern scattering amplitudes program including generalized unitarity, the double copy, and advanced multiloop integration methods, in combination with effective field theory. The classical amplitude involves polylogarithms with up to transcendental weight two and elliptic integrals. We derive the radial action directly from the amplitude, and determine the corresponding Hamiltonian in isotropic gauge. Our results are in agreement with known overlapping terms up to sixth post-Newtonian order, and with the probe limit. We also determine the post-Minkowskian energy loss from radiation emission at ${\cal O}(G^3)$ via its relation to the tail effect.

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arXiv2021

Gravitational Bremsstrahlung from Reverse Unitarity

We compute the total radiated momentum carried by gravitational waves during the scattering of two spinless black holes at the lowest order in Newton's constant, $\mathcal O(G^3)$, and all orders in velocity. By analytic continuation into the bound state regime, we obtain the ${\cal O}(G^3)$ energy loss in elliptic orbits. This provides an essential step towards the complete understanding of the third-post-Minkowskian binary dynamics. We employ the formalism of Kosower, Maybee, and O'Connell (KMOC) which relates classical observables to quantum scattering amplitudes and derive the relevant integrands using generalized unitarity. The subsequent phase-space integrations are performed via the reverse unitarity method familiar from collider physics, using differential equations to obtain the exact velocity dependence from near-static boundary conditions.

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arXiv2021

Radiative Classical Gravitational Observables at $\mathcal O(G^3)$ from Scattering Amplitudes

We compute classical gravitational observables for the scattering of two spinless black holes in general relativity and $\mathcal N {=} 8$ supergravity in the formalism of Kosower, Maybee, and O'Connell (KMOC). We focus on the gravitational impulse with radiation reaction and the radiated momentum in black hole scattering at $\mathcal O(G^3)$ to all orders in the velocity. These classical observables require the construction and evaluation of certain loop-level quantities which are greatly simplified by harnessing recent advances from scattering amplitudes and collider physics. In particular, we make use of generalized unitarity to construct the relevant loop integrands, employ reverse unitarity, the method of regions, integration-by-parts (IBP), and (canonical) differential equations to simplify and evaluate all loop and phase-space integrals to obtain the classical gravitational observables of interest to two-loop order. The KMOC formalism naturally incorporates radiation effects which enables us to explore these classical quantities beyond the conservative two-body dynamics. From the impulse and the radiated momentum, we extract the scattering angle and the radiated energy. Finally, we discuss universality of the impulse in the high-energy limit and the relation to the eikonal phase.

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arXiv2021

Extremal black hole scattering at O(G^3): graviton dominance, eikonal exponentiation, and differential equations

We use $\mathcal N=8$ supergravity as a toy model for understanding the dynamics of black hole binary systems via the scattering amplitudes approach. We compute the conservative part of the classical scattering angle of two extremal (half-BPS) black holes with minimal charge misalignment at $\mathcal O(G^3)$ using the eikonal approximation and effective field theory, finding agreement between both methods. We construct the massive loop integrands by Kaluza-Klein reduction of the known $D$-dimensional massless integrands. To carry out integration we formulate a novel method for calculating the post-Minkowskian expansion with exact velocity dependence, by solving velocity differential equations for the Feynman integrals subject to modified boundary conditions that isolate conservative contributions from the potential region. Motivated by a recent result for universality in massless scattering, we compare the scattering angle to the result found by Bern et. al. in Einstein gravity and find that they coincide in the high-energy limit, suggesting graviton dominance at this order.

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arXiv2020

Locally finite two-loop amplitudes for off-shell multi-photon production in electron-positron annihilation

We study the singularity structure of two-loop QED amplitudes for the production of multiple off-shell photons in massless electron-positron annihilation and develop counterterms that remove their infrared and ultraviolet divergences point by point in the loop integrand. The remainders of the subtraction are integrable in four dimensions and can be computed in the future with numerical integration. The counterterms capture the divergences of the amplitudes and factorize in terms of the Born amplitude and the finite remainder of the one-loop amplitude. They consist of simple one- and two-loop integrals with at most three external momenta and can be integrated analytically in a simple manner with established methods. We uncover novel aspects of fully local IR factorization, where vertex and self-energy subdiagrams must be modified by new symmetrizations over loop momenta, in order to expose their tree-like tensor structures and hence factorization of IR singularities prior to loop integration. This work is a first step towards isolating locally the hard contributions of generic gauge theory amplitudes and rendering them integrable in exactly four dimensions with numerical methods.

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arXiv2020

Spinning Black Hole Binary Dynamics, Scattering Amplitudes and Effective Field Theory

We describe a systematic framework for finding the conservative potential of compact binary systems with spin based on scattering amplitudes of particles of arbitrary spin and effective field theory. An arbitrary-spin formalism is generally required in the classical limit. By matching the tree and one-loop amplitudes of four spinning particles with those of a suitably-chosen effective field theory, we obtain the spin1-spin2 terms of a two-body effective Hamiltonian through O(G^2) and valid to all orders in velocity. Solving Hamilton's equations yields the impulse and spin changes of the individual bodies. We write them in a surprisingly compact form as appropriate derivatives of the eikonal phase obtained from the amplitude. It seems likely this structure persists to higher orders. We also point out various double-copy relations for general spin.

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arXiv2020

Black Hole Binary Dynamics from the Double Copy and Effective Theory

We describe a systematic framework for computing the conservative potential of a compact binary system using modern tools from scattering amplitudes and effective field theory. Our approach combines methods for integration and matching adapted from effective field theory, generalized unitarity, and the double-copy construction, which relates gravity integrands to simpler gauge-theory expressions. With these methods we derive the third post-Minkowskian correction to the conservative two-body Hamiltonian for spinless black holes. We describe in some detail various checks of our integration methods and the resulting Hamiltonian.

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arXiv2019

The two-loop five-point amplitude in $\mathcal N=8$ supergravity

We compute the symbol of the two-loop five-point amplitude in $\mathcal N=8$ supergravity. We write an ansatz for the amplitude whose rational prefactors are based on not only 4-dimensional leading singularities, but also $d$-dimensional ones, as the former are insufficient. Our novel $d$-dimensional unitarity-based approach to the systematic construction of an amplitude's rational structures is likely to have broader applications, for example to analogous QCD calculations. We fix parameters in the ansatz by performing numerical integration-by-parts reduction of the known integrand. We find that the two-loop five-point $\mathcal N=8$ supergravity amplitude is uniformly transcendental. We then verify the soft and collinear limits of the amplitude. There is considerable similarity with the corresponding amplitude for $\mathcal N=4$ super-Yang-Mills theory: all the rational prefactors are double copies of the Yang-Mills ones and the transcendental functions overlap to a large degree. As a byproduct, we find new relations between color-ordered loop amplitudes in $\mathcal N=4$ super-Yang-Mills theory.

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arXiv2019

Scattering Amplitudes and the Conservative Hamiltonian for Binary Systems at Third Post-Minkowskian Order

We present the amplitude for classical scattering of gravitationally interacting massive scalars at third post-Minkowskian order. Our approach harnesses powerful tools from the modern amplitudes program such as generalized unitarity and the double-copy construction, which relates gravity integrands to simpler gauge-theory expressions. Adapting methods for integration and matching from effective field theory, we extract the conservative Hamiltonian for compact spinless binaries at third post-Minkowskian order. The resulting Hamiltonian is in complete agreement with corresponding terms in state-of-the-art expressions at fourth post-Newtonian order as well as the probe limit at all orders in velocity. We also derive the scattering angle at third post-Minkowskian order.

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arXiv2019

Differential equations from unitarity cuts: nonplanar hexa-box integrals

We compute $ε$-factorized differential equations for all dimensionally-regularized integrals of the nonplanar hexa-box topology, which contribute for instance to 2-loop 5-point QCD amplitudes. A full set of pure integrals is presented. For 5-point planar topologies, Gram determinants which vanish in $4$ dimensions are used to build compact expressions for pure integrals. Using unitarity cuts and computational algebraic geometry, we obtain a compact IBP system which can be solved in 8 hours on a single CPU core, overcoming a major bottleneck for deriving the differential equations. Alternatively, assuming prior knowledge of the alphabet of the nonplanar hexa-box, we reconstruct analytic differential equations from 30 numerical phase-space points, making the computation almost trivial with current techniques. We solve the differential equations to obtain the values of the master integrals at the symbol level. Full results for the differential equations and solutions are included as supplementary material.

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arXiv2018

Five-Point Two-Loop Amplitudes from Numerical Unitarity

We present advances in the development of the numerical unitarity method for the computation of multi-loop amplitudes in QCD. As an application, we show results for all the leading-color two-loop five-gluon helicity amplitudes. The amplitudes are reduced to a linear combination of master integrals by employing unitarity-compatible integration-by-parts identities, and the corresponding integral coefficients are computed in an exact manner on rational phase-space points through finite fields arithmetics.

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arXiv2018

Two-loop D-dimensional unitarity and dual conformal symmetry

In this talk we show that dual conformal symmetry has unexpected applications to Feynman integrals in dimensional regularization. Outside $4$ dimensions, the symmetry is anomalous, but still preserves the unitarity cut surfaces. This generally leads to differential equations whose RHS is proportional to $(d-4)$ and has no doubled propagators. The stabilizer subgroup of the conformal group leads to integration-by-parts (IBP) relations without doubled propagators. The above picture also suggested hints that led us to find a nonplanar analog of dual conformal symmetry.

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