We analyse one-loop graviton amplitudes in the field theory limit of a genus-one string theory computation. The considered amplitudes can be dimensionally reduced to lower dimensions preserving maximal supersymmetry. The particular case of the one-loop five-graviton amplitude is worked out in detail and explicitly features no triangle contributions. Based on a recursive form of the one-loop amplitude we investigate the contributions that will occur at n-point order in relation to the ``no-triangle'' hypothesis of N=8 supergravity. We argue that the origin of unexpected cancellations observed in gravity scattering amplitudes is linked to general coordinate invariance of the gravitational action and the summation over all orderings of external legs. Such cancellations are instrumental in the extraordinary good ultra-violet behaviour of N=8 supergravity amplitudes and will play a central role in improving the high-energy behaviour of gravity amplitudes at more than one loop.
Astonishing cancellations take place in the calculation of high-energy scattering cross sections in quantum quadratic gravity, a quantum field theory for gravity. Tree-level differential cross sections that are minimally inclusive behave as $1/E^2$, as desired for a well-behaved UV completion. Such cross sections are calculated for the various spin states of the massless and massive graviparticles. These describe the hard scattering processes that occur in a picture involving the gravitational analog of parton showers. The structure of some of the simpler amplitudes is also explored. Unitarity…
In this dissertation we discuss the properties of matrix elements describing the scattering of massive spin-2 particles in theories of compactified gravity. Our primary result is the calculation of 2-to-2 massive spin-2 Kaluza-Klein (KK) mode scattering matrix elements in the Randall-Sundrum 1 (RS1) model and the demonstration that those matrix elements grow no faster than $\mathcal{O}(s)$ irrespective of the KK mode numbers and helicities considered. Because this calculation requires summing infinitely-many spin-2 mediated diagrams which each diverge like $\mathcal{O}(s^{5})$, overall $\mathc…
We study the bending of gravitons that pass near a massive object like the Sun, using scattering amplitudes in which the Sun is represented by a massive scalar particle. Our results complete previous work on the bending angles of massless spin-0, spin-$\frac{1}{2}$ and spin-1 particles, and provides more evidence for the violation of the equivalence principle at the quantum level, in the sense that the quantum corrections to bending angles for massless particles with different spins are different. We provide a universal expression for the bending angle in terms of coefficients of triangle and …
We perform an analysis of the ultraviolet divergences of the quantum nonprojectable Horava gravity. We work the quantum field theory directly in the Hamiltonian formalism provided by the Batalin-Fradkin-Vilkovisky quantization. In this way the second-class constraints can be incorporated to the quantization. A known local gauge-fixing condition leads to a local canonical Lagrangian. Although the canonical fields acquire regular propagators, irregular propagators persist for the field associated to the measure of the second-class constraints. Loops can be formed with the irregular propagators p…
The large $j$ asymptotic behavior of $4$-dimensional spin foam amplitude is investigated for the extended spin foam model (Conrady-Hnybida extension) on a simplicial complex. We study the most general situation in which timelike tetrahedra with timelike triangles are taken into account. The large $j$ asymptotic behavior is determined by critical configurations of the amplitude. We identify the critical configurations that correspond to the Lorentzian simplicial geometries with timelike tetrahedra and triangles. Their contributions to the amplitude are phases asymptotically, whose exponents equ…
Using a careful choice of infrared (IR) subtraction scheme, we demonstrate the cancellation of all terms with transcendental weights 0,1,2 from the finite part of the full-color two-loop four-gluon $\mathcal{N}=2$ supersymmetric QCD amplitude, with $N_f$ massless supersymmetric quarks. This generalizes the previously observed cancellation of weight-2 terms in the superconformal theory, where $N_f=2N_c$ for gauge group SU$(N_c)$. The subtraction scheme follows naturally both from general IR factorization principles and from an integrand-level analysis of divergences in this amplitude. The diver…
We revisit the number-theory dark matter scenario where one of the light chiral fermions required by the anomaly cancellation conditions of U(1)_{B-L} explains dark matter. Focusing on some of the integer B-L charge assignments, we explore a new region of the parameter space where there appear two light fermions and the heavier one becomes a dark matter of mass O(10)keV or O(10)MeV. The dark matter radiatively decays into neutrino and photon, which can explain the tantalizing hint of the 3.55keV X-ray line excess. Interestingly, the other light fermion can erase the AdS vacuum around the neutr…
It has recently been shown explicitly that the high-energy scattering amplitude of the longitudinal modes of massive spin-2 Kaluza Klein states in compactified 5-dimensional gravity, which would naively grow like O(s^5), grow only like O(s). Since the individual contributions to these amplitudes do grow like O(s^5), the required cancellations between these individual contributions result from intricate relationships between the masses of these states and their couplings. Here we report the explicit form of these sum-rule relationships which ensure the necessary cancellations for elastic scatte…
We study the mechanism of topological mass-generation for 3d Chern-Simons (CS) gauge theories, where the CS term can retain the gauge symmetry and make gauge boson topologically massive. Without CS term the 3d massless gauge boson has a single physical transverse polarization state, while adding the CS term converts it into a massive physical polarization state and conserves the total physical degrees of freedom. We newly formulate the mechanism of topological mass-generation at $S$-matrix level. For this, we propose and prove a new Topological Equivalence Theorem (TET) which connects the $N$-…
