arXiv subjects

Sérgio Carrôlo

Publications and source records attributed to Sérgio Carrôlo.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Bootstrapping two-loop six-gluon amplitudes in QCD

The maximally transcendental, or most complicated, terms of gauge-theory scattering amplitudes have long been singled out, following Lipatov and collaborators, as those parts of a QCD amplitude that most closely mirror maximally supersymmetric Yang--Mills theory. We report on a programme that turns this observation into a practical computational tool. We show that the rational prefactors multiplying the highest-weight special functions of planar QCD amplitudes are governed by four-dimensional leading singularities, which can be classified and evaluated using on-shell diagrams. The resulting prefactors are manifestly conformally invariant and admit compact spinor-helicity expressions that hold for arbitrary multiplicity. Combining this input with the recently established two-loop six-particle function space, we set up a symbol bootstrap and determine, for the first time, the maximal-weight symbol of the planar two-loop six-gluon amplitude in massless QCD, first for the ${-}{-}{+}{+}{+}{+}$ helicity configuration and subsequently for all MHV configurations. The answer is fixed uniquely by physical consistency conditions, requires a reduced alphabet of only $137$ symbol letters, and yields as a byproduct previously unknown two-loop triple-collinear and double-soft splitting functions. We summarise the method and the results, and outline the directions they open up.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2026

QCD Scattering Amplitudes and Prescriptive Unitarity

We present a systematic framework for the maximally-transcendental part of planar QCD scattering amplitudes and perform the first bootstrap computation of six-gluon MHV amplitudes in massless QCD at the symbol level. By analyzing the maximal weight projection of amplitudes at the integrand level, we relate their maximally-transcendental parts to prescriptive unitarity integrals. This reveals a novel analytic structure: the prefactors multiplying the functions of maximal transcendentality are identified with the four-dimensional leading singularities of the theory. As a consequence, these prefactors admit a complete classification and can be computed using on-shell diagrams, a formalism originally developed in $\mathcal{N}{=}4$ super Yang-Mills theory. As a concrete application, we determine the two-loop prefactors for planar MHV gluon amplitudes at arbitrary multiplicity. Combining these prefactors with recent advances in the planar two-loop six-point function space and explicit six-point prescriptive-unitarity input, we construct a complete symbol ansatz and uniquely fix the maximally-transcendental part of the two-loop six-gluon MHV QCD amplitudes by imposing physical constraints. The resulting symbols are expressible in a reduced 137-letter alphabet, suggesting that this alphabet is complete for two-loop six-point massless MHV scattering. We also discuss the implications for multi-collinear splitting and multi-soft functions.

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arXiv2026

Bootstrapping Six-Gluon QCD Amplitudes

We present a symbol-level bootstrap construction of the planar, two-loop six-gluon scattering amplitude for the --++++ helicity configuration in QCD, focusing on the maximal weight pieces-the "most complicated terms" in the sense of Lipatov et al. Building on recent advances in the understanding of the relevant function space, we incorporate as a crucial new ingredient the complete set of leading singularities, obtained from an explicit analysis of on-shell diagrams. The resulting expressions are manifestly conformally invariant and clarify the structure of previous five-particle results. Combining this with the symbol bootstrap, we show that constraints from physical limits are sufficient to uniquely determine the answer. We thus obtain the first concrete characterization of two-loop six-gluon amplitudes at the symbol level and at highest weight. Remarkably, we find that the effective function space involves only 137 symbol letters, significantly fewer than the full set of 167 possible letters, suggesting a yet-unexplained underlying structure akin to that seen in maximally supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory. From the novel amplitude results we extract previously unknown symbol-level results describing two-loop triple collinear and double soft limits.

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arXiv2025

How gluon leading singularities discover curves on surfaces

We study the leading singularities for pure gluon amplitudes obtained by on-shell gluing of three-particle amplitudes for an arbitrary graph in any number of dimensions. By encoding the polarization vector contractions in a graphical way, on-shell gluing "discovers" curves on surfaces, and we find that the leading singularity is determined by a simple combinatorial question: what are all ways of covering the graph with non-overlapping curves such that each edge is covered exactly once? This precisely matches the formula from the surfaceology formulation of gluons, where the leading singularities are given by maximal residues, with the combinatorial problem arising from the linearized form of the $u$ variables. At loop-level we describe how the novelties associated with spin sums (related with the need for ghosts when working off-shell using Lagrangians) can be easily encoded in this combinatorial picture. Matching the leading singularities also lets us settle an open question in the surface formulation of gluons, determining the exponents of the closed curves at any loop order.

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arXiv2025

Hexagonal Wilson loop with Lagrangian insertion at two loops in $\mathcal{N}=4$ super Yang-Mills theory

In this work, we compute the two-loop result of the null hexagonal Wilson loop with a Lagrangian insertion in planar, maximally supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory via a bootstrap approach. Normalized by the null polygonal Wilson loop itself, the integrand-level result of this observable corresponds to the logarithm of the six-point three-loop amplitude in this theory, while its integrated result is conjectured to match the maximal transcendental part of the six-point three-loop all-plus amplitude in pure Yang-Mills theory. Our work builds on two recent advances. On the one hand, the set of leading singularities relevant to this observable was recently classified. On the other hand, the relevant space of special functions that may in principle accompany these leading singularities was determined at two loops and for six particles by a dedicated Feynman integral calculation. These two ingredients serve as the foundation of our bootstrap ansatz. We fix all indeterminates in this ansatz by imposing physical constraints, such as symmetries, absence of spurious divergences, and correct behavior in soft and collinear limits. Finally, we discuss and verify certain physical properties of our symbol result, including physical singularities, behavior under multi-Regge limit, as well as Steinmann relations between symbol entries. The latter relations are motivated by the correspondence to all-plus amplitudes in pure Yang-Mills theory, and successfully checking them constitutes a consistency check of this conjectured correspondence.

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arXiv2021

Symmetry and decoupling in multi Higgs models

We study the scalar sector of the most general multi Higgs doublet model satisfying explicitly an exact symmetry. We prove that such a model will exhibit decoupling if and only if the vacuum also satisfies the same symmetry. This general property is also shown independently and explicitly for three Higgs doublet models, by considering in detail all symmetry-constrained models and their possible vacua. We also discuss some specific characteristics of different decoupling patterns.

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