SearcharxivSearch

arXiv subjects

Nathan Moynihan

Publications and source records attributed to Nathan Moynihan.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Inclusive Radiation and Backreaction from the Phase-Space S-Matrix

We develop a phase-space description of classical scattering in which the matter sector of the Dyson S-matrix is partially Weyl transformed while the radiation sector remains operator valued. The resulting S-matrix symbol provides a common origin for several classical observables: we show that the inclusive waveform, the classical displacement in phase-space (i.e. the impulse and position shift), and the angular momentum arise as different projections of the same object. We show that the partially Weyl-transformed $S$-matrix admits an exponential organisation in terms of an elastic phase and connected radiation kernels, while its inclusive one-point projection admits a coherent representative with waveshape $\alpha_I$ describing classical radiation, extending our recent proposal. Furthermore, we show explicitly how nonlinear gravitational memory can be derived from an inclusive coherent waveshape. The dependence of the waveshape on the hard scattering data naturally leads to a quantum geometry, including an induced Berry connection on the space of waveforms, whose contribution to the phase-space displacement captures both radiation-reaction and static-field effects. We illustrate this structure by deriving static contributions to the position shift and field angular momentum in both scalar QED and gravity.

hep-th

Memory effect from the scattering of Taub-NUT black holes

Taub-NUT black holes are somewhat exotic solutions to the vacuum Einstein equations, which have received limited attention in gravitational phenomenology. We use the soft behaviour of scattering amplitudes to compute the memory effect of the waveform resulting from the scattering of Kerr-Taub-NUT black holes. Due to the non-linear nature of gravity, NUT charges introduce intriguing features in the soft dynamics, which have no counterpart in the closely related setting of monopole charges in electromagnetism. In addition to this potentially realistic problem, we also comment on the purely academic problem in complexified gravity of the scattering of self-dual Taub-NUT black holes, which have been discussed recently in the context of celestial holography.

hep-th

Non-local nonstabiliserness in Gluon and Graviton Scattering

The property of non-stabiliserness, or ``magic'', is of interest in quantum computing due to its role in developing fault-tolerant quantum algorithms with genuine computational advantage over classical counterparts. There has been much interest in quantifying magic in various physical systems, in order to probe how to produce and enhance it. The production of magic has previously been quantified in gluon and graviton scattering, in the so-called helicity basis relating particle spins with momentum directions. For a basis-independent statement, one should instead use the recently developed concept of non-local non-stabiliserness, and our aim in this paper is to derive how this varies for gluon and graviton scattering processes. Our results show that, for many initial states, including those produced with polarised beams, the helicity basis coincides with a basis in which the non-local magic is manifest, providing a physical motivation for using the helicity basis to study quantum information quantities. However, this property breaks upon adding additional operators to the Yang-Mills Lagrangian, as would be the case in new physics scenarios.

hep-th

Learning the S-matrix from data: Rediscovering gravity from gauge theory via symbolic regression

We demonstrate that modern machine-learning methods can autonomously reconstruct several flagship analytic structures in scattering amplitudes directly from numerical on-shell data. In particular, we show that the Kawai--Lewellen--Tye (KLT) relations can be rediscovered using symbolic regression applied to colour-ordered Yang--Mills amplitudes with Mandelstam invariants as input features. Using standard feature-selection techniques, specifically column-pivoted QR factorisation, we simultaneously recover the Kleiss--Kuijf and Bern--Carrasco--Johansson (BCJ) relations, identifying a minimal basis of partial amplitudes without any group-theoretic input. We obtain the tree-level KLT relations with high numerical accuracy up to five external legs, using only minimal theoretical priors, and we comment on the obstacles to generalising the method to higher multiplicity. Our results establish symbolic regression as a practical tool for exploring the analytic structure of the scattering-amplitude landscape, and suggests a general data-driven strategy for uncovering hidden relations in general theories. For comparison, we benchmark this general approach with a recently introduced neural-network based method.

hep-th

The double copy as a doppelg\"{a}nger

The double copy relates scattering amplitudes and classical solutions in non-abelian gauge theories and gravity. As such, it is usually expressed in the conventional second-order formalisms in both theories corresponding to standard Yang-Mills theory, and the Einstein--Hilbert action in General Relativity. In this paper, we instead consider alternative formulations of gravity, which are known to terminate at finite order in the coupling at Lagrangian level. We focus in particular on the Chern--Simons--Witten (CSW) formulation in 2+1 dimensions, and argue that the double copy then becomes a doppelg\"{a}nger relationship between gauge theory and gravity, allowing straightforward replacement of generators and structure constants in both theories. We show how explicit (multiple) static point-source solutions can be mapped in the two approaches, and use the CSW formalism to examine when double copies are expected to be possible, and when not. In addition, we present an explicit double copy between the Wong equations for colour charges, and the Mathisson-Papapetrou-Dixon equations for spinning particles, that extends also to higher dimensions.

hep-th

Spin versus Magic: Lessons from Gluon and Graviton Scattering

The quantum property of non-stabiliserness, also known as magic, plays a key role in designing quantum computing systems. How to produce, manipulate and enhance magic remains mysterious, such that concrete examples of physical systems that manifest magic behaviour are sought after. In this paper, we study two-particle scattering of gluons and gravitons in Yang--Mills theory and General Relativity, as well as their supersymmetric extensions. This provides an interesting case of two-qubit systems, differing only in the physical spin of the qubits. We show that magic is generically produced in both theories, and also show that magic typically decreases as the spin of the qubits increases. The maximal magic in each case is found to be substantially less than the known upper bound. Differences in the profile of magic generation can be traced to the known physics of each theory, as manifested in relations between their respective scattering amplitudes. Our case study may provide useful insights into understanding magic in other systems.

hep-th

Topological modes, non-locality and the double copy

The double copy connects scattering amplitudes and other objects in gauge and gravity theories. Open conceptual issues include whether non-local information in gravity theories can be generated from the double copy, and how the double copy should be practically implemented in unseen cases. In this paper, we consider topological theories (with and without mass) in 2+1 dimensions, and argue that this makes a useful playground for exploring non-locality. In particular, topological modes of the gauge field arise, themselves associated with non-trivial global behaviour, and it is not clear {\it a priori} how to double copy them. We settle this issue, and clarify the role of BCJ shifts in modifying how topological modes contribute. We show how our conclusions apply to four- and five-point scattering amplitudes in topological gauge / gravity theories, as a by-product obtaining greatly simplified analytic expressions for the four-point amplitudes.

hep-th

Celestial amplitudes on electromagnetic backgrounds: T-duality from S-duality

What is the boundary holographic dual of S-duality for gauge theories in asymptotically flat space-times? Celestial amplitudes, by virtue of exhibiting holographic properties of the S-matrix, appear well-suited for studying this question. We scatter electrically and magnetically charged massless scalars off non-trivial electromagnetic potentials such as shockwaves, spin-one conformal primary waves, conformally soft modes and their magnetic duals which we construct. This reveals an intricate relation between conformally soft solutions, descendant CFT three-point functions and, by means of the two-dimensional shadow transform, CFT two-point functions. By comparing celestial amplitudes on electric and magnetic dual backgrounds, we provide evidence that the four-dimensional flat-space holographic dual of S-duality in Abelian gauge theory is two-dimensional T-duality. Moreover, we demonstrate that for two-dimensional boundary actions describing low-energy sectors of the bulk gauge theory, S-duality can be explicitly implemented as a T-duality transformation. We show that the Dirac quantisation condition guarantees gauge invariance in the eikonal re-summation for scattering from potentials which for magnetic scalars can be expressed in terms of 't Hooft loops.

hep-th

Deriving Weyl double copies with sources

The Weyl double copy is a relationship between classical solutions in gauge and gravity theories, and has previously been applied to vacuum solutions in both General Relativity and its generalisations. There have also been suggestions that the Weyl double copy should extend to solutions with non-trivial sources. In this paper, we provide a systematic derivation of sourced Weyl double copy formulae, using spinorial methods previously established for ${\cal N}=0$ supergravity. As a cross-check, we rederive the same formulae using a tensorial approach, which then allows us to extend our arguments to sources containing arbitrary powers of the inverse radial coordinate. We also generalise our results to include the Kerr-Newman black hole, clarifying previous alternative double copy formulae presented in the literature. Our results extend the validity of the Weyl double copy, and may be useful for further astrophysical applications of this correspondence.

hep-th

The Uncertainty Principle and Classical Amplitudes

We study the variance in the measurement of observables during scattering events, as computed using amplitudes. The classical regime, characterised by negligible uncertainty, emerges as a consequence of an infinite set of relationships among multileg, multiloop amplitudes in a momentum-transfer expansion. We discuss two non-trivial examples in detail: the six-point tree and the five-point one-loop amplitudes in scalar QED. We interpret these relationships in terms or a coherent exponentiation of radiative effects in the classical limit which generalises the eikonal formula, and show how to recover the impulse, including radiation reaction, from this generalised eikonal. Finally, we incorporate the physics of spin into our framework.

hep-th

Observables from the Spinning Eikonal

We study the classical dynamics of spinning particles using scattering amplitudes and eikonal exponentiation. We show that observables are determined by a simple algorithm. A wealth of complexity arises in perturbation theory as positions, momenta and spins must be iteratively corrected at each order. Even though we restrict ourselves to one-loop computations at quadratic order in spin, nevertheless we encounter and resolve a number of subtle effects. Finally, we clarify the links between our work and various other eikonal approaches to spinning observables.

hep-th

Mini-twistors and the Cotton Double Copy

The double copy relates quantities in gauge, gravity and related theories. A well-known procedure for relating exact classical solutions is the Weyl double copy in four spacetime dimensions, and a three-dimensional analogue of this -- the Cotton double copy -- has recently been found for topologically massive gauge theory and gravity. In this paper, we use twistor methods to provide a derivation of the position-space Cotton double copy, where this is seen to arise from combining appropriate data in so-called minitwistor space. Our methods rely on a massive generalisation of the Penrose transform linking spacetime fields with cohomology classes in minitwistor space. We identify the relevant transform from the twistor literature, but also show that it naturally arises from considering scattering amplitudes in momentum space. We show that the Cotton double copy in position space is only valid for type N solutions, but that a simple twistor space double copy is possible for non-type N solutions, where we use anyons to illustrate our arguments.

hep-th

Why is the Weyl double copy local in position space?

The double copy relates momentum-space scattering amplitudes in gauge and gravity theories. It has also been extended to classical solutions, where in some cases an exact double copy can be formulated directly in terms of products of fields in position space. This is seemingly at odds with the momentum-space origins of the double copy, and the question of why exact double copies are possible in position space and when this form will break has remained largely unanswered. In this paper, we provide an answer to this question, using a recently developed twistorial formulation of the double copy. We show that for certain vacuum type-D solutions, the momentum-space, twistor-space and position-space double copies amount to the same thing, and are directly related by integral transforms. Locality in position space is ultimately a consequence of the very special form of momentum-space three-point amplitudes, and we thus confirm suspicions that local position-space double copies are possible only for highly algebraically-special spacetimes.

hep-th

Scattering Amplitudes and The Cotton Double Copy

We construct classical curvature spinors in topologically massive gauge theory and topologically massive gravity, expressed in terms of massive three-particle amplitudes. We show that when the amplitudes double copy, the curvature spinors satisfy the Cotton double copy, the three-dimensional cousin of the Weyl double copy. Furthermore, we show that under certain circumstances the Cotton double copy can be derived via a dimensional reduction of the Weyl double copy.

hep-th

Anyons and the Double Copy

We examine the double copy structure of anyons in gauge theory and gravity. Using on-shell amplitude techniques, we construct little group covariant spinor-helicity variables describing massive particles with spin, which together with locality and unitarity enables us to derive the long-range tree-level scattering amplitudes involving anyons. We discover that classical gauge theory anyon solutions double copy to their gravitational counterparts in a non-trivial manner. Interestingly, we show that the massless double copy captures the topological structure of curved spacetime in three dimensions by introducing a non-trivial mixing of the topological graviton and the dilaton. Finally, we show that the celebrated Aharonov-Bohm phase can be derived directly from the constructed on-shell amplitude and that it too enjoys a simple double copy to its gravitational counterpart.

hep-th

Quantization Conditions and the Double Copy

We formulate Wilson loop observables as products of eikonal Wilson lines given in terms of on-shell scattering amplitudes. Using these, we derive the Dirac-Schwinger-Zwanziger quantization condition and its gravitational (Taub-NUT) double copy, where we find a relativistic generalisation of the usual non-relativistic gravitational quantization condition. We also compute the relativistic Wilson loop for an anyon-anyon system, obtaining a similar relativistic generalisation of the Aharonov-Bohm phase for gravitational anyons.

hep-th

Massive Covariant Colour-Kinematics in 3D

We explore topologically massive gauge theories using the covariant colour kinematics duality recently introduced by Cheung and Mangan. We show that the massive bi-adjoint scalar field is simply related to topologically massive gauge theory by the duality, and that enacting the same duality on the gauge theory produces topologically massive gravity coupled to a scalar or, equivalently, an antisymmetric field. We also show that different choices for the replacement of the colour structure constants with kinematic structure constants lead to different theories, including a topologically massive generalisation of Born-Infeld theory.

hep-th

Scattering Amplitudes and the Double Copy in Topologically Massive Theories

Using the principles of the modern scattering amplitudes programme, we develop a formalism for constructing the amplitudes of three-dimensional topologically massive gauge theories and gravity. Inspired by recent developments in four dimensions, we construct the three-dimensional equivalent of $x$-variables for conserved matter currents coupled to topologically massive gauge bosons or gravitons. Using these, we bootstrap various matter-coupled gauge-theory and gravitational scattering amplitudes, and conjecture that topologically massive gauge theory and topologically massive gravity are related by the double copy. To motivate this idea further, we show explicitly that the Landau gauge propagator on the gauge theory side double copies to the de Donder gauge propagator on the gravity side.

hep-th