The gluon tree amplitudes of open twistor string theory, defined as contour integrals over the ACCK link variables, are shown to satisfy the BCFW relations, thus confirming that they coincide with the corresponding amplitudes in gauge field theory. In this approach, the integration contours are specified as encircling the zeros of certain constraint functions that force the appropriate relation between the link variables and the twistor string world-sheet variables. To do this, methods for calculating the tree amplitudes using link variables are developed further including diagrammatic methods for organizing and performing the calculations.
We show how the link variables of Arkani-Hamed, Cachazo, Cheung and Kaplan (ACCK), can be used to compute general gluon tree amplitudes in the twistor string. They arise from instanton sectors labelled by d, with d=n-1, where n is the number of negative helicities. Read backwards, this shows how the various forms for the tree amplitudes studied by ACCK can be grouped into contour integrals whose structure implies the existence of an underlying string theory.
We introduce a notion of holonomy in twistor space and construct a holonomy operator by use of a spinor-momenta formalism in twistor space. The holonomy operator gives a monodromy representation of the Knizhnik-Zamolodchikov (KZ) equation, which is mathematically equivalent to a linear representation of a braid group. We show that an S-matrix functional for gluon amplitudes can be expressed in terms of a supersymmetric version of the holonomy operator. A variety of mathematical and physical concepts, such as integrability, general covariance, Lorentz invariance and Yangian symmetry, are knit t…
We evaluate all split helicity gluon tree amplitudes in open twistor string theory. We show that these amplitudes satisfy the BCFW recurrence relations restricted to the split helicity case and, hence, that these amplitudes agree with those of gauge theory. To do this we make a particular choice of the sextic constraints in the link variables that determine the poles contributing to the contour integral expression for the amplitudes. Using the residue theorem to re-express this integral in terms of contributions from poles at rational values of the link variables, which we determine, we evalua…
There is evidence that one can compute tree level super Yang-Mills amplitudes using either connected or completely disconnected curves in twistor space. We argue that the two computations are equivalent, if the integration contours are chosen in a specific way, by showing that they can both be reduced to the same integral over a moduli space of singular curves. We also formulate a class of new ``intermediate'' prescriptions to calculate the same amplitudes.
We compute the one-loop gluon amplitude for the open twistor string model of Berkovits, using a symmetric form of the vertex operators. We discuss the classical solutions in various topologies and instanton sectors and the canonical quantization of the world sheet Lagrangian. We derive the N-point functions for the gluon tree and one-loop amplitudes, and calculate a general one-loop expression for the current algebra.
These notes accompany an introductory lecture course on the twistor approach to supersymmetric gauge theories aimed at early-stage PhD students. It was held by the author at the University of Cambridge during the Michaelmas term in 2009. The lectures assume a working knowledge of differential geometry and quantum field theory. No prior knowledge of twistor theory is required.
In a recent paper, Witten proposed a surprising connection between perturbative gauge theory and a certain topological model in twistor space. In particular, he showed that gluon amplitudes are localized on holomorphic curves. In this note we present some preliminary considerations on the possibility of having a similar localization for gravity amplitudes.
We study symmetries of the quantized open twistor string. In addition to global PSL(4|4) symmetry, we find non-local conserved currents. The associated non-local charges lead to Ward identities which show that these charges annihilate the string gluon tree amplitudes, and have the same form as symmetries of amplitudes in N=4 super conformal Yang Mills theory. We describe how states of the open twistor string form a realization of the PSL(4|4) Yangian superalgebra.
Scattering amplitudes of gluons coupled with a pair of massive scalars, so-called massive scalar amplitudes, provide the simplest yet physically useful examples of massive amplitudes. In this paper we construct an S-matrix functional for the massive scalar amplitudes in a recently developed holonomy formalism in supertwistor space. From the S-matrix functional we derive ultra helicity violating (UHV), as well as next-to-UHV (NUHV), massive scalar amplitudes at tree level in a form that agrees with previously known results. We also obtain recursive expressions for non-UHV tree amplitudes in gen…
We prove the equivalence between two traditional approaches to the classical mechanics of a massive spinning particle in special relativity. One is the spherical top model of Hanson and Regge, recast in a Hamiltonian formulation with improved treatment of covariant spin constraints. The other is the massive twistor model, slightly generalized to incorporate the Regge trajectory relating the mass to the total spin angular momentum. We establish the equivalence by computing the Dirac brackets of the physical phase space carrying three translation and three rotation degrees of freedom. Lorentz co…
We introduce the D=4 twistorial tensionfull bosonic string by considering the canonical twistorial 2--form in two--twistor space. We demonstrate its equivalence to two bosonic string models: due to Siegel (with covariant worldsheet vectorial string momenta $P_μ^{m}(τ,σ)$) and the one with tensorial string momenta $P_{[μν]}(τ,σ)$. We show how to obtain in mixed space-time--twistor formulation the Soroka--Sorokin--Tkach--Volkov (SSTV) string model and subsequently by harmonic gauge fixing the Bandos--Zheltukhin (BZ) model, with constrained spinorial coordinates.
We obtain the super-Landau-Ginzburg mirror of the A-twisted topological sigma model on a twistor superspace -- the quadric in CP^{3|3} x CP^{3|3} which is a Calabi-Yau supermanifold. We show that the B-model mirror has a geometric interpretation. In a particular limit for one of the Kaehler parameters of the quadric, we show that the mirror can be interpreted as the twistor superspace CP^{3|4}. This agrees with the recent conjecture of Neitzke and Vafa proposing a mirror equivalence between the two twistor superspaces.
Conformal supergravity arises in presently known formulations of twistor-string theory either via closed strings or via gauge-singlet open strings. We explore this sector of twistor-string theory, relating the relevant string modes to the particles and fields of conformal supergravity. We also use the twistor-string theory to compute some tree level scattering amplitudes with supergravitons, and compare to expectations from conformal supergravity. Since the supergravitons interact with the same coupling constant as the Yang-Mills fields, conformal supergravity states will contribute to loop am…
We display the vertex operators for all states in the conformal supergravity sector of the twistor string, as outlined by Berkovits and Witten. These include `dipole' states, which are pairs of supergravitons that do not diagonalize the translation generators. We use canonical quantization of the open string version of Berkovits, and compute N-point tree level scattering amplitudes for gravitons, gluons and scalars. We reproduce the Berkovits-Witten formula for maximal helicity violating (MHV) amplitudes (which they derived using path integrals), and extend their results to the dipole pairs. W…
Following the previous paper arXiv:1205.4827, we formulate an S-matrix functional for massive fermion ultra-helicity-violating (UHV) amplitudes, i.e., scattering amplitudes of positive-helicity gluons and a pair of massive fermions. The S-matrix functional realizes a massive extension of the Cachazo-Svrcek-Witten (CSW) rules in a functional language. Mass-dimension analysis implies that interactions among gluons and massive fermions should be decomposed into three-point massive fermion subamplitudes. Namely, such interactions are represented by combinations of three-point UHV and next-to-UHV (…
We give a brief review of the twistor string approach to supersymmetric Yang-Mills theories with an emphasis on the different formulations of (super)string models in supertwistor space and their superspace form. We discuss the classical equivalence among the Siegel closed twistor string and the Lorentz harmonics formulation of the (N=4) tensionless superstring, and notice the possible relation of the twistor string to the D=10 Green-Schwarz superstring action, as well as to models in the enlarged, tensorial superspaces that are relevant in higher spin theories.
Recently it has been proposed that gluon scattering amplitudes in gauge theory can be computed from the D-instanton expansion of the topological B-model on P^{3|4}, although only maximally helicity violating (MHV) amplitudes have so far been obtained from a direct B-model calculation. In this note we compute the simplest non-MHV gluon amplitudes (++--- and +-+--) from the B-model as an integral over the moduli space of degree 2 curves in P^{3|4} and find perfect agreement with Yang-Mills theory.
The tree-level amplitudes in $β$-deformed theory are studied from twistor string theory. We first show that a simple generalization of the proposal in hep-th/0410122 gives the correct results for all of the tree-level amplitudes to the first order of the deformation parameter $β$. Then we give a proposal to all orders of $β$ and show this matches the field theory. We also show the prescription using connected instantons and the prescription using disconnected instantons are equivalent in the deformed twistor string theory. The tree-level amplitudes in non-supersymmetric $γ$-deformed theory are…
We present an extension of the twistor-motivated MHV vertices and accompanying rules presented by Cachazo, Svrvcek and Witten to the construction of vector-boson currents coupling to an arbitrary source. In particular, we give rules for constructing off-shell vector-boson currents with one fermion pair and n gluons of arbitrary helicity. These currents may be employed directly in the computation of electroweak amplitudes. The rules yield expressions in agreement with previously-obtained results for Z,W,γ^* --> qbar q + n gluons (analytically up to n=3, beyond via the Berends--Giele recursion r…
Using twistor space intuition, Cachazo, Svrcek and Witten presented novel diagrammatic rules for gauge-theory amplitudes, expressed in terms of maximally helicity-violating (MHV) vertices. We define non-MHV vertices, and show how to use them to give a recursive construction of these amplitudes. We also use them to illustrate the equivalence of various twistor-space prescriptions, and to determine the associated combinatoric factors.
We use the twistor-string theory on the B-model of CP^{3|4} to compute the maximally helicity violating(MHV) tree amplitudes for conformal supergravitons. The correlator of a bilinear in the affine Kac-Moody current(Sugawara stress-energy tensor) can generate these amplitudes. We compare with previous results from open string version of twistor-string theory. We also compute the MHV tree amplitudes for both gravitons and gluons from the correlators between stress-energy tensor and current.
Perturbative scattering amplitudes in Yang-Mills theory have many unexpected properties, such as holomorphy of the maximally helicity violating amplitudes. To interpret these results, we Fourier transform the scattering amplitudes from momentum space to twistor space, and argue that the transformed amplitudes are supported on certain holomorphic curves. This in turn is apparently a consequence of an equivalence between the perturbative expansion of ${\cal N}=4$ super Yang-Mills theory and the $D$-instanton expansion of a certain string theory, namely the topological $B$ model whose target spac…
Twistor space constructions and actions are given for full Yang-Mills and conformal gravity using almost complex structures that are not, in general, integrable. These are used as the basis of a derivation of the twistor-string generating functionals for tree level perturbative scattering amplitudes of Yang-Mills and conformal gravity. The derivation follows by expanding and resumming the classical approximation to the path integral obtained from the twistor action. It provides a basis for exploring whether the equivalence can be made to extend beyond tree level and allows one to disentangle c…
We compute the next-to-MHV one-loop n-gluon amplitudes in N=4 super-Yang-Mills theory. These amplitudes contain three negative-helicity gluons and an arbitrary number of positive-helicity gluons, and are the first infinite series of amplitudes beyond the simplest, MHV, amplitudes. We also discuss some aspects of their twistor-space structure.
This is a review of recent developments in the study of perturbative gauge theory and gravity using action functionals on twistor space. It is intended to provide a user-friendly introduction to twistor actions, geared towards researchers or graduate students interested in learning something about the utility, prospects, and shortcomings of this approach. For those already familiar with the twistor approach, it should provide a condensed overview of the literature as well as several novel results of potential interest. This work is based primarily upon the author's D.Phil. thesis. We first con…
We investigate the Yangian symmetry of scattering amplitudes in N=4 super Yang-Mills theory and show that its formulations in twistor and momentum twistor space can be interchanged. In particular we show that the full symmetry can be thought of as the Yangian of the dual superconformal algebra, annihilating the amplitude with the MHV part factored out. The equivalence of this picture with the one where the ordinary superconformal symmetry is thought of as fundamental is an algebraic expression of T-duality. Motivated by this, we analyse some recently proposed formulas, which reproduce differen…
In this paper we discuss different recursion relations (BCFW and all-line shift) for the form factors of the operators from the $\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM stress-tensor current supermultiplet $T^{AB}$ in momentum twistor space. We show that cancelations of spurious poles and equivalence between different types of recursion relations can be naturally understood using geometrical interpretation of the form factors as special limit of the volumes of polytopes in $\mathbb{C}\mathbb{P}^4$ in close analogy with the amplitude case. We also show how different relations for the IR pole coefficients can be eas…
We propose a new formulation of the complete tree-level S-matrix of N = 8 supergravity. The new formula for n particles in the k R-charge sector is an integral over the Grassmannian G(2,n) and uses the Veronese map into G(k,n). The image of a point in G(2,n) is required to be in the "complement" of a 2|8-plane thus making the SU(8) R-symmetry manifest. The integrand is the ratio of two determinants. The numerator is an analog of Hodges' recent determinant formula for MHV amplitudes. The denominator is a 2(n+k-2) x 2(n+k-2) minor of a 2(n+k) x 2(n+k) matrix of rank 2(n+k-2). Just as Hodges' for…
These lectures are centred around tree-level scattering amplitudes in pure Yang-Mills theories, the most prominent example is given by the tree-level gluon amplitudes of QCD. I will discuss several ways of computing these amplitudes, illustrating in this way recent developments in perturbative quantum field theory. Topics covered in these lectures include colour decomposition, spinor and twistor methods, off- and on-shell recursion, MHV amplitudes and MHV expansion, the Grassmannian and the amplituhedron, the scattering equations and the CHY representation. At the end of these lectures there w…
Witten's twistor string theory has led to new representations of S-matrix in massless QFT as a single object, including Cachazo-He-Yuan formulas in general and connected formulas in four dimensions. As a first step towards more realistic processes of the standard model, we extend the construction to QCD tree amplitudes with massless quarks and those with a Higgs boson. For both cases, we find connected formulas in four dimensions for all multiplicities which are very similar to the one for Yang-Mills amplitudes. The formula for quark-gluon color-ordered amplitudes differs from the pure-gluon c…
We compute the non-MHV one-loop seven-gluon amplitudes in N=4 super-Yang-Mills theory, which contain three negative-helicity gluons and four positive-helicity gluons. There are four independent color-ordered amplitudes, (- - - + + + +), (- - + - + + +), (- - + + -+ +) and (- + - + - + +). The MHV amplitudes containing two negative-helicity and five positive-helicity gluons were computed previously, so all independent one-loop seven-gluon helicity amplitudes are now known for this theory. We present partial information about an infinite sequence of next-to-MHV one-loop helicity amplitudes, with…
We show how the MHV diagram description of Yang-Mills theories can be used to study non-supersymmetric loop amplitudes. In particular, we derive a compact expression for the cut-constructible part of the general one-loop MHV multi-gluon scattering amplitude in pure Yang-Mills theory. We show that in special cases this expression reduces to known amplitudes - the amplitude with adjacent negative-helicity gluons, and the five gluon non-adjacent amplitude. Finally, we briefly discuss the twistor space interpretation of our result.
The variational ansatz for the ground state wavefunctional of QCD is found to capture the anti-screening behaviour that contributes the dominant `-4' to the beta-function and leads to asymptotic freedom. By considering an SU(N) purely gauge theory in the Hamiltonian formalism and choosing the Coulomb gauge, the origins of all screening and anti-screening contributions in gluon processes are found in terms of the physical degrees of freedom. The overwhelming anti- screening contribution of `-4' is seen to originate in the renormalisation of a Coulomb interaction by a transverse gluon. The lesse…
Motivated by potential applications to holography on space-times of positive curvature, and by the successful twistor description of scattering amplitudes, we propose a new dual matrix formulation of N = 4 gauge theory on S(4). The matrix model is defined by taking the low energy limit of a holomorphic Chern-Simons theory on CP(3|4), in the presence of a large instanton flux. The theory comes with a choice of S(4) radius L and a parameter N controlling the overall size of the matrices. The flat space variant of the 4D effective theory arises by taking the large N scaling limit of the matrix mo…
We describe a theory living on the null conformal boundary of four-dimensional Minkowski space, whose states include the radiative modes of Yang-Mills theory. The action of a Kac-Moody symmetry algebra on the correlators of these states leads to a Ward identity for asymptotic 'large' gauge transformations which is equivalent to the soft gluon theorem. The subleading soft gluon behavior is also obtained from a Ward identity for charges acting as vector fields on the sphere of null generators of the boundary. Correlation functions of the Yang-Mills states are shown to produce the full classical …
We give a proof by direct computation that at tree level, the twistor-like superstring theory in the pure spinor formalism proposed very recently by Berkovits describes ten-dimensional N=1 super Yang-Mills in its heterotic version, and type II supergravity in its type II version. The Yang-Mills case agrees with the result obtained by Mafra, Schlotterer, Stieberger and Tsimpis. When restricting to gluon and graviton scattering, this new theory gives rise to Cachazo-He-Yuan formula.
It is well-known that perturbative calculations in field theory can lead to far simpler answers than the Feynman diagram approach might suggest. In some cases scattering amplitudes can be constructed for processes with any desired number of external legs yielding compact expressions which are inaccessible from the point of view of conventional perturbation theory. In this thesis we discuss some attempts to address the nature of this underlying simplicity and then use the results to calculate some previously unknown amplitudes of interest. Witten's twistor string theory is introduced and the CS…
Scattering amplitudes in 4d $\mathcal{N}=4$ super Yang-Mills theory (SYM) can be described by Grassmannian contour integrals whose form depends on whether the external data is encoded in momentum space, twistor space, or momentum twistor space. After a pedagogical review, we present a new, streamlined proof of the equivalence of the three integral formulations. A similar strategy allows us to derive a new Grassmannian integral for 3d $\mathcal{N}=6$ ABJM theory amplitudes in momentum twistor space: it is a contour integral in an orthogonal Grassmannian with the novel property that the internal…
In this paper we consider tree-level gauge invariant off-shell amplitudes (Wilson line form factors) in $\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM. For the off-shell amplitudes with one leg off-shell we present a conjecture for their Grassmannian integral representation in spinor helicity, twistor and momentum twistor parameterizations. The presented conjecture is successfully checked against BCFW results for MHV$_n$, NMHV$_4$ and NMHV$_5$ off-shell amplitudes. We have also verified that our Grassmannian integral representation correctly reproduces soft (on-shell) limit for the off-shell gluon momentum. It is shown …
Arkani-Hamed, Cachazo, Cheung and Kaplan have proposed a Grassmannian formulation for the S-matrix of N=4 Yang-Mills as an integral over link variables. In parallel work, the connected prescription for computing tree amplitudes in Witten's twistor string theory has also been written in terms of link variables. In this paper we extend the six- and seven-point results of arXiv:0909.0229 and arXiv:0909.0499 by providing a simple analytic proof of the equivalence between the two formulas for all tree-level NMHV superamplitudes. Also we note that a simple deformation of the connected prescription i…
QCD amplitudes display a universal behaviour when one or more partons are soft and/or collinear. This can expressed in terms of antenna functions which are much simpler than the full amplitudes and yet correctly embody their infrared behaviour. We show how antenna functions can be naturally obtained via a twistor-inspired MHV approach. As an application, we present compact results for MHV and NMHV antennas functions valid for any number of gluons. These are sufficient to calculate the complete set of tree-level gluon antenna functions up to NNNLO. As an interesting corollary, we prove that spl…
The Landau-Khalatnikov-Fradkin transformations (LKFTs) represent an important tool for probing the gauge dependence of the correlation functions within the class of linear covariant gauges. Recently these transformations have been derived from first principles in the context of non-Abelian gauge theory (QCD) introducing a gauge invariant transverse gauge field expressible as an infinite power series in a Stueckelberg field. In this work we explicitly calculate the transformation for the gluon propagator, reproducing its dependence on the gauge parameter at the one loop level and elucidating th…
We give a representation of the parity-even part of the planar two-loop six-gluon MHV amplitude of N=4 super-Yang-Mills theory, in terms of loop-momentum integrals with simple dual conformal properties. We evaluate the integrals numerically in order to test directly the ABDK/BDS all-loop ansatz for planar MHV amplitudes. We find that the ansatz requires an additive remainder function, in accord with previous indications from strong-coupling and Regge limits. The planar six-gluon amplitude can also be compared with the hexagonal Wilson loop computed by Drummond, Henn, Korchemsky and Sokatchev i…
We use the infrared consistency of one-loop amplitudes in N=4 Yang-Mills theory to derive a compact analytic formula for a tree-level NNMHV gluon scattering amplitude in QCD, the first such formula known. We argue that the IR conditions, coupled with recent advances in calculating one-loop box coefficients, can give a new tool for computing tree-level amplitudes in general. Our calculation suggests that many amplitudes have a structure which is even simpler than that revealed so far by current twistor-space constructions.
We study gluon scattering amplitudes/Wilson loops in N=4 super Yang-Mills theory at strong coupling by calculating the area of the minimal surfaces in AdS_3 based on the associated thermodynamic Bethe ansatz system. The remainder function of the amplitudes is computed by evaluating the free energy, the T- and Y-functions of the homogeneous sine-Gordon model. Using conformal field theory (CFT) perturbation, we examine the mass corrections to the free energy around the CFT point corresponding to the regular polygonal Wilson loop. Based on the equivalence between the T-functions and the g-functio…
We demonstrate the agreement between the Higgs branches of two N=2 theories proposed by Argyres and Seiberg to be S-dual, namely the SU(3) gauge theory with six quarks, and the SU(2) gauge theory with one pair of quarks coupled to the superconformal theory with E_6 flavor symmetry. In mathematical terms, we demonstrate the equivalence between a hyperkaehler quotient of a linear space and another hyperkaehler quotient involving the minimal nilpotent orbit of E_6, modulo the identification of the twistor lines.
Low multiplicity celestial amplitudes of gluons and gravitons tend to be distributional in the celestial coordinates $z,\bar z$. We provide a new systematic remedy to this situation by studying celestial amplitudes in a basis of light transformed boost eigenstates. Motivated by a novel equivalence between light transforms and Witten's half-Fourier transforms to twistor space, we light transform every positive helicity state in the coordinate $z$ and every negative helicity state in $\bar z$. With examples, we show that this "ambidextrous" prescription beautifully recasts two- and three-point c…
There is growing evidence that on-shell gluon scattering amplitudes in planar N=4 SYM theory are equivalent to Wilson loops evaluated over contours consisting of straight, light-like segments defined by the momenta of the external gluons. This equivalence was first suggested at strong coupling using the AdS/CFT correspondence and has since been verified at weak coupling to one loop in perturbation theory. Here we perform an explicit two-loop calculation of the Wilson loop dual to the four-gluon scattering amplitude and demonstrate that the relation holds beyond one loop. We also propose an ano…
In order to understand the confining decoupling solution of the Yang-Mills theory in the Landau gauge, we consider the massive Yang-Mills model which is defined by just adding a gluon mass term to the Yang-Mills theory with the Lorentz-covariant gauge fixing term and the associated Faddeev-Popov ghost term. First of all, we show that massive Yang-Mills model is obtained as a gauge-fixed version of the gauge-invariantly extended theory which is identified with the gauge-scalar model with a single fixed-modulus scalar field in the fundamental representation of the gauge group. This equivalence i…
