arXiv subjects

Ruth Britto

Publications and source records attributed to Ruth Britto.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2018

Diagrammatic Hopf algebra of cut Feynman integrals: the one-loop case

We construct a diagrammatic coaction acting on one-loop Feynman graphs and their cuts. The graphs are naturally identified with the corresponding (cut) Feynman integrals in dimensional regularization, whose coefficients of the Laurent expansion in the dimensional regulator are multiple polylogarithms (MPLs). Our main result is the conjecture that this diagrammatic coaction reproduces the combinatorics of the coaction on MPLs order by order in the Laurent expansion. We show that our conjecture holds in a broad range of nontrivial one-loop integrals. We then explore its consequences for the study of discontinuities of Feynman integrals, and the differential equations that they satisfy. In particular, using the diagrammatic coaction along with information from cuts, we explicitly derive differential equations for any one-loop Feynman integral. We also explain how to construct the symbol of any one-loop Feynman integral recursively. Finally, we show that our diagrammatic coaction follows, in the special case of one-loop integrals, from a more general coaction proposed recently, which is constructed by pairing master integrands with corresponding master contours.

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arXiv2017

Cuts from residues: the one-loop case

Using the multivariate residue calculus of Leray, we give a precise definition of the notion of a cut Feynman integral in dimensional regularization, as a residue evaluated on the variety where some of the propagators are put on shell. These are naturally associated to Landau singularities of the first type. Focusing on the one-loop case, we give an explicit parametrization to compute such cut integrals, with which we study some of their properties and list explicit results for maximal and next-to-maximal cuts. By analyzing homology groups, we show that cut integrals associated to Landau singularities of the second type are specific combinations of the usual cut integrals, and we obtain linear relations among different cuts of the same integral. We also show that all one-loop Feynman integrals and their cuts belong to the same class of functions, which can be written as parametric integrals.

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arXiv2017

The algebraic structure of cut Feynman integrals and the diagrammatic coaction

We study the algebraic and analytic structure of Feynman integrals by proposing an operation that maps an integral into pairs of integrals obtained from a master integrand and a corresponding master contour. This operation is a coaction. It reduces to the known coaction on multiple polylogarithms, but applies more generally, e.g. to hypergeometric functions. The coaction also applies to generic one-loop Feynman integrals with any configuration of internal and external masses, and in dimensional regularization. In this case, we demonstrate that it can be given a diagrammatic representation purely in terms of operations on graphs, namely contractions and cuts of edges. The coaction gives direct access to (iterated) discontinuities of Feynman integrals and facilitates a straightforward derivation of the differential equations they admit. In particular, the differential equations for any one-loop integral are determined by the diagrammatic coaction using limited information about their maximal, next-to-maximal, and next-to-next-to-maximal cuts.

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arXiv2015

Cuts and coproducts of massive triangle diagrams

Relations between multiple unitarity cuts and coproducts of Feynman integrals are extended to allow for internal masses. These masses introduce new branch cuts, whose discontinuities can be derived by placing single propagators on shell and identified as particular entries of the coproduct. First entries of the coproduct are then seen to include mass invariants alone, as well as threshold corrections for external momentum channels. As in the massless case, the original integral can possibly be recovered from its cuts by starting with the known part of the coproduct and imposing integrability contraints. We formulate precise rules for cuts of diagrams, and we gather evidence for the relations to coproducts through a detailed study of one-loop triangle integrals with various combinations of external and internal masses.

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arXiv2014

From multiple unitarity cuts to the coproduct of Feynman integrals

We develop techniques for computing and analyzing multiple unitarity cuts of Feynman integrals, and reconstructing the integral from these cuts. We study the relations among unitarity cuts of a Feynman integral computed via diagrammatic cutting rules, the discontinuity across the corresponding branch cut, and the coproduct of the integral. For single unitarity cuts, these relations are familiar. Here we show that they can be generalized to sequences of unitarity cuts in different channels. Using concrete one- and two-loop scalar integral examples we demonstrate that it is possible to reconstruct a Feynman integral from either single or double unitarity cuts. Our results offer insight into the analytic structure of Feynman integrals as well as a new approach to computing them.

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arXiv2012

On-shell recursion for massive fermion currents

We analyze the validity of BCFW recursion relations for currents of n - 2 gluons and two massive quarks, where one of the quarks is off shell and the remaining particles are on shell. These currents are gauge-dependent and can be used as ingredients in the unitarity-based approach to computing one-loop amplitudes. The validity of BCFW recursion relations is well known to depend on the so-called boundary behavior of the currents as the momentum shift parameter goes to infinity. With off-shell currents, a new potential problem arises, namely unphysical poles that depend on the choice of gauge. We identify conditions under which boundary terms are absent and unphysical poles are avoided, so that there is a natural recursion relation. In particular, we are able to choose a gauge in which we construct a valid shift for currents with at least n - 3 gluons of the same helicity. We derive an analytic formula in the case where all gluons have the same helicity. As by-products, we prove the vanishing boundary behavior of general off-shell objects in Feynman gauge, and we find a compact generalization of Berends-Giele gluon currents with a generic reference spinor.

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arXiv2012

Massive particles and unitarity cuts

We present an extension of the spinor integration formalism of one loop amplitudes from the double-cut to the single-cut case. This technique can be applied for the computation of the tadpole coefficients. Moreover we describe an off-shell continuation of one loop amplitudes that allows a finite evaluation of the unitarity cuts in the channel of a single massive external fermion.

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arXiv2012

External leg corrections in the unitarity method

Unitarity cuts diverge in the channel of a single massive external fermion. We propose an off-shell continuation of the momentum that allows a finite evaluation of the unitarity cuts. If the cut is taken with complete amplitudes on each side, our continuation and expansion around the on-shell configuration produces the finite contribution to the bubble coefficient. Finite parts in the expansion of the external leg counterterms must be included explicitly as well.

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arXiv2011

Loop amplitudes in gauge theories: modern analytic approaches

This article reviews on-shell methods for analytic computation of loop amplitudes, emphasizing techniques based on unitarity cuts. Unitarity techniques are formulated generally but have been especially useful for calculating one-loop amplitudes in massless theories such as Yang-Mills theory, QCD, and QED.

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arXiv2011

Solving for tadpole coefficients in one-loop amplitudes

One-loop amplitudes may be expanded in a basis of scalar integrals multiplied by rational coefficients. We relate the coefficient of the one-point integral to the coefficients of higher-point integrals, by considering the effects of introducing an additional, unphysical propagator, subject to certain conditions.

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arXiv2010

Single Cut Integration

We present an analytic technique for evaluating single cuts for one-loop integrands, where exactly one propagator is taken to be on shell. Our method extends the double-cut integration formalism of one-loop amplitudes to the single-cut case. We argue that single cuts give meaningful information about amplitudes when taken at the integrand level. We discuss applications to the computation of tadpole coefficients.

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arXiv2008

Polynomial Structures in One-Loop Amplitudes

A general one-loop scattering amplitude may be expanded in terms of master integrals. The coefficients of the master integrals can be obtained from tree-level input in a two-step process. First, use known formulas to write the coefficients of (4-2epsilon)-dimensional master integrals; these formulas depend on an additional variable, u, which encodes the dimensional shift. Second, convert the u-dependent coefficients of (4-2epsilon)-dimensional master integrals to explicit coefficients of dimensionally shifted master integrals. This procedure requires the initial formulas for coefficients to have polynomial dependence on u. Here, we give a proof of this property in the case of massless propagators. The proof is constructive. Thus, as a byproduct, we produce different algebraic expressions for the scalar integral coefficients, in which the polynomial property is apparent. In these formulas, the box and pentagon contributions are separated explicitly.

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arXiv2008

Closed-Form Decomposition of One-Loop Massive Amplitudes

We present formulas for the coefficients of 2-, 3-, 4- and 5-point master integrals for one-loop massive amplitudes. The coefficients are derived from unitarity cuts in D dimensions. The input parameters can be read off from any unitarity-cut integrand, as assembled from tree-level expressions, after simple algebraic manipulations. The formulas presented here are suitable for analytical as well as numerical evaluation. Their validity is confirmed in two known cases of helicity amplitudes contributing to gg -> gg and gg -> gH, where the masses of the Higgs and the fermion circulating in the loop are kept as free parameters.

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arXiv2007

Integral Coefficients for One-Loop Amplitudes

We present a set of algebraic functions for evaluating the coefficients of the scalar integral basis of a general one-loop amplitude. The functions are derived from unitarity cuts, but the complete cut-integral procedure has been carried out in generality so that it never needs to be repeated. Where the master integrals are known explicitly, the results here can be used as a black box with tree-level amplitudes as input and one-loop amplitudes as output.

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arXiv2007

Unitarity Cuts with Massive Propagators and Algebraic Expressions for Coefficients

In the first part of this paper, we extend the d-dimensional unitarity cut method of hep-ph/0609191 to cases with massive propagators. We present formulas for integral reduction with which one can obtain coefficients of all pentagon, box, triangle and massive bubble integrals. In the second part of this paper, we present a detailed study of the phase space integration for unitarity cuts. We carry out spinor integration in generality and give algebraic expressions for coefficients, intended for automated evaluation.

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arXiv2007

Unitarity cuts and reduction to master integrals in d dimensions for one-loop amplitudes

We present an alternative reduction to master integrals for one-loop amplitudes using a unitarity cut method in arbitrary dimensions. We carry out the reduction in two steps. The first step is a pure four-dimensional cut-integration of tree amplitudes with a mass parameter, and the second step is applying dimensional shift identities to master integrals. This reduction is performed at the integrand level, so that coefficients can be read out algebraically.

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arXiv2006

D-dimensional unitarity cut method

We develop a unitarity method to compute one-loop amplitudes with massless propagators in d=4-2*epsilon dimensions. We compute double cuts of the loop amplitudes via a decomposition into a four-dimensional and a -2*epsilon-dimensional integration. The four-dimensional integration is performed using spinor integration or other efficient techniques. The remaining integral in -2*epsilon dimensions is cast in terms of bubble, triangle, box, and pentagon master integrals using dimensional shift identities. The method yields results valid for arbitrary values of epsilon.

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arXiv2006

All Split Helicity Tree-Level Gluon Amplitudes

Recently a new recursion relation for tree-level gluon amplitudes in gauge theory has been discovered. We solve this recursion to obtain explicit formulas for the closed set of amplitudes with arbitrarily many positive and negative helicity gluons in a split helicity configuration. The solution admits a simple diagrammatic expansion in terms of zigzag diagrams. We comment on generalizations of this result.

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