Production Amplitudes Research Articles

Toward double copy on arbitrary backgrounds

Abstract Double copy relates scattering amplitudes in a web of gravitational and gauge theories. Although it has seen great success when applied to amplitudes in vacuum, far less is known about double copy in arbitrary gravitational and gauge backgrounds. Focussing on the simplest pair production amplitudes of scalar QCD in a background gauge field, we construct, at next-to-leading order in perturbation theory, a double copy map to particle production in general metrics (and associated axio-dilatons) constructed from the gauge background. We connect our results to convolutional and classical double copy and, turning to examples, identify a class of gauge fields which generate FRW spacetimes via double copy. For this case we are able to conjecture the all-orders form of the double copy map.

Locally finite two-loop amplitudes for electroweak production through gluon fusion

The computation of two-loop amplitudes for the production of multiple Higgs and electroweak gauge bosons via gluon fusion with exact dependence on quark masses relies primarily on numerical methods. We propose a framework that enables their numerical evaluation in momentum space. The method is inspired by the factorization of infrared divergences in QCD scattering amplitudes. It extends techniques introduced for electroweak gauge boson production from quark-antiquark annihilation to processes with external gluons. By combining diagrammatic integrands, we make use of local cancellations between diagrams that automatically eliminate most non-factoring infrared singularities. With a limited number of counterterms, we then derive two-loop integrands for which all soft and collinear singularities factorize locally. We hope that the local subtraction techniques presented in this article will play a useful role in extending the local factorization formalism to two-loop amplitudes for arbitrary processes.

Exact two-loop amplitudes for Higgs plus jet production with a cubic Higgs self-coupling

We compute the corrections to the two-loop amplitudes for gg → h, gg → hg, qg → hq, and qq¯\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ q\\overline{q} $$\\end{document} → hg due to a modified cubic Higgs self-coupling. The exact dependence on the Higgs and top-quark masses across the entire 2 → 2 phase space is determined by numerically solving a system of differential equations for the relevant master integrals. The calculated amplitudes are crucial for evaluating the impact of the considered corrections on exclusive pp → hj production at the hadronic event level. As an application, we calculate the non-universal, kinematic-dependent cubic Higgs self-coupling corrections to the Higgs-boson transverse momentum distribution in gluon-gluon fusion Higgs production for arbitrary values of the transverse momentum.

Photoproduction of ηc,b near threshold

We analyze the photoproduction of ηc,b off a proton in the threshold region, in terms of C-odd gluonic correlations in the off-forward proton matrix element. Near threshold, the skewness is large, leading to a production amplitude that is dominated by four C-odd twist-3 gluon GPDs. We use the QCD instanton vacuum to estimate these C-odd contributions in the proton. The results are used to estimate the differential cross sections for coherent photoproduction of ηc,b in the threshold region, at current electron facilities. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

The determination of the spin and parity of a vector-vector system

We present a construction of the reaction amplitude for the inclusive production of a resonance decaying to a pair of identical vector particles such as J/ψJ/ψ, ρρ, ϕϕ. The method provides the possibility of determining the spin and parity of a resonance in a model-independent way. The methodology is demonstrated using the Standard Model decay of the Higgs boson to four leptons and through angular correlations in the production and decays of J/ψ pairs.

Impact of Cyclic Strain on Elastin Synthesis in a 3D Human Myometrial Culture Model.

The synthesis and assembly of mature, organized elastic fibers remains a limitation to the clinical use of many engineered tissue replacements. There is a critical need for a more in-depth understanding of elastogenesis regulation for the advancement of methods to induce and guide production of elastic matrix structures in engineered tissues that meet the structural and functional requirements of native tissue. The dramatic increase in elastic fibers through normal pregnancy has led us to explore the potential role of mechanical stretch in combination with pregnancy levels of the steroid hormones 17β-estradiol and progesterone on elastic fiber production by human uterine myometrial smooth muscle cells in a three-dimensional (3D) culture model. Opposed to a single strain regimen, we sought to better understand how the amplitude and frequency parameters of cyclic strain influence elastic fiber production in these myometrial tissue constructs (MTC). Mechanical stretch was applied to MTC at a range of strain amplitudes (5%, 10%, and 15% at 0.5 Hz frequency) and frequencies (0.1 Hz, 0.5 Hz, 1 Hz, and constant 0 Hz at 10% amplitude), with and without pregnancy-level hormones, for 6 days. MTC were assessed for cell proliferation, matrix elastin protein content, and expression of the main elastic fiber genes, tropoelastin (ELN) and fibrillin-1 (FBN1). Significant increases in elastin protein and ELN and FBN1 mRNA were produced from samples subjected to a 0.5 Hz, 10% strain regimen, as well as samples stretched at higher amplitude (15%, 0.5 Hz) and higher frequency (1 Hz, 10%); however, no significant effects because of third-trimester mimetic hormone treatment were determined. These results establish that a minimum level of strain is required to stimulate the synthesis of elastic fiber components in our culture model and show this response can be similarly enhanced by increasing either the amplitude or frequency parameter of applied strain. Further, our results demonstrate strain alone is sufficient to stimulate elastic fiber production and suggest hormones may not be a significant factor in regulating elastin synthesis. This 3D culture model will provide a useful tool to further investigate mechanisms underlying pregnancy-induced de novo elastic fiber synthesis and assembly by uterine smooth muscle cells.

Two-loop mixed QCD-electroweak amplitudes for Z+jet production at the LHC: bosonic corrections

We present a calculation of the bosonic contribution to the two-loop mixed QCD-electroweak scattering amplitudes for Z-boson production in association with one hard jet at hadron colliders. We employ a method to calculate amplitudes in the ’t Hooft-Veltman scheme that reduces the amount of spurious non-physical information needed at intermediate stages of the computation, to keep the complexity of the calculation under control. We compute all the relevant Feynman integrals numerically using the Auxiliary Mass Flow method. We evaluate the two-loop scattering amplitudes on a two-dimensional grid in the rapidity and transverse momentum of the Z boson, which has been designed to yield a reliable numerical sampling of the boosted-Z region. This result provides an important building block for improving the theoretical modelling of a key background for monojet searches at the LHC.

Coherent gluon radiation: beyond leading-log accuracy

Results are presented for the medium-induced, soft coherent radiation spectrum for all 2 → 2 partonic channels in QCD, at leading-order in αs but beyond leading logarithmic accuracy. The general formula is valid in the full kinematic range of the underlying process, and reduces to previous results in special cases. The soft gluon radiation spectrum is expressed in terms of the color density matrix specific to each channel, quantifying the entanglement between the color components of the 2 → 2 production amplitude. Beyond the leading logarithm, the spectrum depends explicitly on the off-diagonal elements of this matrix, owing to the soft gluon’s ability to probe the internal color structure of the parton pair.

On the high-energy behavior of massive QCD amplitudes

In this note, we propose a factorization formula for gauge-theory scattering amplitudes up to two loops in the high-energy boosted limit. Our formula extends existing results in the literature by incorporating the contributions from massive loops. We derive the new ingredients in our formula using the method of regions with analytic regulators for the rapidity divergences. We verify our results with various form factors and the scattering amplitudes for top-quark pair production. Our results can be used to obtain approximate expressions for complicated two-loop massive amplitudes from simpler massless ones, and can be used to resum the mass logarithms to all orders in the coupling constant.

Hyperglycemia Induces Remodeling of Nitric Oxide Synthase Activity in Glomerular Podocytes

Background: The regulation of glomerular filtration is influenced by the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) and the release of nitric oxide (NO) by glomerular cells. Several studies suggest that NO levels in glomeruli decrease as renal pathology develops, and restoring NO levels can be beneficial for glomerular function. Despite these findings, the expression of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) subunits in podocytes, particularly under pathological conditions, still requires further investigation. We hypothesized that decreased NO bioavailability in diabetes and hyperglycemia is linked to pathological NOS remodeling, thus influencing redox balance in podocytes and promoting renal damage. Methods: Live-cell confocal imaging was used to investigate NO production and the distribution of NOS in both control and hyperglycemic conditions. First, we used immortalized human podocytes (obtained from M. Saleem lab) loaded with the DAF-FM fluorescent marker in control and hyperglycemic (exposed to high glucose for 12 hours) conditions. Next, freshly isolated glomeruli from Type 2 Diabetic Nephropathy (T2DN) and Wistar male rats (age 26-30 weeks) were used to confirm our data ex vivo. NO production was monitored following Angiotensin II (Ang II) stimulation, and the distribution of NOS was determined using specific NOS1 and NOS2 commercially available inhibitors (Nω-Propyl-L-arginine hydrochloride and L-NIL, respectively). One-way ANOVA (OriginPro) was used for statistical analysis. Results: Upon application of Ang II, rapid NO production was observed in cultured and Wistar rats isolated glomeruli podocytes. The release of NO was blocked by preincubation with corresponding inhibitors targeting NOS. Our findings reveal that NOS1 primarily contributes to signaling in healthy podocytes, accounting for 69±5% of the total NO response, while the remaining NO production mediated by the RAS is attributed to NOS2 (39±5%). In diabetic conditions, the maximal amplitude of NO production mediated by Ang II was decreased by 22±10% compared to the control (one-way ANOVA, n≥24, p<0.001). Furthermore, high glucose conditions significantly altered NOS distribution in podocytes, where NOS2 signaling became predominant (89±7% of the total NO response), and the contribution of NOS1 became less significant. Conclusions: The changes in the distribution of NO sources could be associated with heightened oxidative and nitrosative stress, promoting renal damage. Our research demonstrates that in diabetes, NOS2 activity becomes predominant, potentially playing a direct role in advancing pathological processes in podocytes. Revealing the mechanisms of this fundamental pathway in the glomerulus impacts our progress toward new treatment and preventive measures for diabetic kidney disease development. This research was supported by National Institutes of Health Grants R01 DK126720 (to OP), R01 DK129227 (to AS and OP), and R01 DK115749 (to KS), US Department of Veteran Affairs grants I01CX002391 (to JHL), I01CX001248 (JCO) and I01 BX004024 (to AS). This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2024 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.

Serum Prestin Level May Increase Following Music Exposure That Induces Temporary Threshold Shifts: A Pilot Study.

To determine if blood prestin level changes after exposure to music at high sound pressure levels, and if this change is associated with temporary threshold shift (TTS) and/or changes in distortion product (DP) amplitude. Participants were exposed to pop-rock music at 100 dBA for 15 min monaurally through headphones. Pure-tone audiometry, DP amplitude, and blood prestin level were measured before and after exposure. Fourteen adults (9 women; age range: 20 to 54 years, median age = 31 [Interquartile ratio = 6.75]) with normal hearing were included in the study. Mean prestin level increased shortly after exposure to music, then returned to baseline within 1 week, although this trend was not observed in all participants. All participants presented TTS or a decrease in DP amplitude in at least one frequency after music exposure. There was a statistically significant average threshold elevation at 4 min postexposure. Statistically significant DP amplitude shifts were observed at 4 and 6 kHz, 2 min following exposure. Mean baseline serum prestin level (mean: 140.00 pg/mL, 95% confidence interval (CI): 125.92 to 154.07) progressively increased following music exposure, reaching a maximum at 2 hr (mean: 158.29 pg/mL, 95% CI: 130.42 to 186.66) and returned to preexposure level at 1 week (mean: 139.18 pg/mL, 95% CI: 114.69 to 163.68). However, after correction for multiple comparisons, mean prestin level showed no statistically significant increase from baseline at any timepoint. No correlation between maximum blood prestin level change and average TTS or distortion product otoacoustic emission amplitude shift was found. However, in an exploratory analysis, TTS at 6 kHz (the frequency at which maximum TTS occurred) decreased significantly as baseline blood prestin level increased. The results suggest that blood prestin level may change after exposure to music at high sound pressure levels, although statistical significance was not reached in this relatively small sample after correction. Baseline serum prestin level may also predict the degree of TTS. These findings thus suggest that the role of baseline serum prestin level as a proxy marker of cochlear susceptibility to intense music exposure should be further explored.

On time-dependent backgrounds in 1 + 1 dimensional string theory

In perturbative string theory, one is generally interested in asymptotic observables, such as the S-matrix in flat spacetime, and boundary correlation functions in anti-de Sitter spacetime. However, there are backgrounds in which such observables do not exist. We study examples of such backgrounds in 1 + 1 dimensional string theory. In these examples, the Liouville wall accelerates and can become spacelike in the past and/or future. When that happens, the corresponding null infinity, at which the standard scattering states are defined, is shielded by the Liouville wall. We compute scattering and particle production amplitudes in these backgrounds in the region in parameter space where the wall remains timelike, and discuss the continuation of this picture to the spacelike regime. We also discuss the physics from the point of view of the dynamics of free fermions in backgrounds with a time-dependent Fermi surface.

Full top-quark mass dependence in diphoton production at NNLO in QCD

In this paper we consider the diphoton production in hadronic collisions at the next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO) in perturbative QCD, taking into account for the first time the full top quark mass dependence up to two loops (full NNLO). We show selected numerical distributions, highlighting the kinematic regions where the massive corrections are more significant. We make use of the recently computed two-loop massive amplitudes for diphoton production in the quark annihilation channel. The remaining massive contributions at NNLO are also considered, and we comment on the weight of the different types of contributions to the full and complete result.

Trend in seasonal amplitude of northern net ecosystem production: Simulated results from IAP DGVM in CAS-ESM2

Net ecosystem production (NEP) over northern latitudes has an obvious seasonal variation, which dominantly drives the seasonal variation in atmospheric CO2. Investigating these carbon processes and understanding the underlying drivers is a key issue of climate research. This study focuses on the seasonal amplitude of northern NEP (40°–90°N) and investigates its trend in the period 1990–2014 by using the dynamic global vegetation model (IAP DGVM) in the second version of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Earth System Model (CAS-ESM2). Basing on a spin-up simulation, the authors conduct a control simulation to evaluate the modeled trend in the seasonal amplitude of northern NEP, and three sensitivity simulations to detect the contributions of the climate and atmospheric CO2. The results show that the modeled seasonal amplitude of northern NEP increases significantly from 1990 to 2014, with a trend of 9.69 TgC month−1 yr−1, which is mainly because of the increasing maximum NEP. The positive trend is largely reduced when CO2 fertilization effects and climatic effects are separately excluded. These significant reductions suggest important effects of atmospheric CO2 and climate change on the seasonal amplitude of northern NEP. Even though model uncertainties remain, the results favor further development of IAP DGVM in accurately simulating the terrestrial carbon cycle, and also provide an important reference for the application of CAS-ESM in further investigating carbon–climate interactions.摘要北方陆地净生态系统生产力(NEP)具有明显的季节变化特征, 这是大气CO2季节变化的关键驱动. 研究这些碳循环过程并理解潜在的驱动因素是气候研究的一个关键问题. 本文利用第二代中国科学院地球系统模式(CAS-ESM2)中的全球植被动态模型(IAP DGVM), 研究了1990−2014年北方NEP(40°−90°N)的季节振幅及其变化趋势. 在初始化试验的基础上, 本文开展了一个控制试验来评估模拟的北方NEP季节幅度的变化趋势, 同时开展了三个敏感性试验来研究气候和大气CO2的贡献. 结果表明: 1990−2014年, 模拟的北方NEP季节振幅显著增加, 趋势为9.69 万吨碳/月/年, 这主要是由于最大NEP增加所致. 当分别排除CO2施肥效应和气候效应时, 上述增加趋势大大减弱.这些显著的减少表明大气CO2和气候变化对北方NEP的季节性振幅有重要影响. 尽管模式存在不确定性, 但这些结果有利于进一步提升IAP DGVM对陆地碳循环的精确模拟, 也为CAS-ESM研究碳-气候相互作用的应用提供了重要参考.

Influence of high fluence heavy ion irradiation on the performance of single crystal diamond detectors

Radiation detectors based on diamond are highly favored for particle physics research due to their superior radiation hardness. In this work, the performance of single crystal diamond detectors under high fluence heavy ion radiation has been investigated. After irradiation by Fe13+ and Xe20+ ion beams with a high particle fluence of 1.2 × 1015 cm-2, the properties of unirradiated and irradiated intrinsic single crystal chemical vapor deposition (CVD) diamond detectors are compared by means of the spectroscopic energy resolution, charge collection efficiency (CCE), mobility-lifetime (μτ) product and time response using a 241Am alpha (α) particle source. The experimental results of the unirradiated sample with respect to I-V dark current levels, showed an ohmic behaviour of the Al and Cr/Au contact, CCE of 100%, fast response with a rise time of 750 ps and a fall time of 600 ps as well as drift velocities of 6.67 × 104 m/s and 4.72 × 104 m/s for holes and electrons respectively. In the case of the irradiated samples, the CCE, μτ product and time response pulse amplitude of holes and electrons were all degraded, indicating that high density trappings for both kinds of carriers were created under the diamond crystal surface and the trapping probability of holes and electrons was equal, which was different from the previous reports in the literature where only higher trapping probability of holes were observed under heavy ions irradiation. In particular, the spectroscopic performance as well as μτ product of holes and electrons in Fe13+ irradiated sample decreased more than those in Xe20+ irradiated sample, which implied that the recombination of electrons and holes increased in Fe13+ irradiated sample with greater penetration depth than that in Xe20+ irradiated sample when radiation fluence was up to 1015 cm-2, despite the lower density of lattice vacancies in Fe13+ irradiated sample. Moreover, the rise time of holes was slightly different, but the drift velocity was basically the same as that of the unirradiated sample, and so was that of the electrons. Anyway, the presented results showed that the diamond detectors irradiated by heavy ions at a high fluence of 1015 cm-2 still retained their good spectroscopic and very fast time response properties.

Paired Double Heavy Baryons Production in Decays of the Higgs Boson

Rare decays of the Higgs boson into a pair of diquarks cc(bb) and c¯c¯(b¯b¯) are studied within the perturbative Standard Model and relativistic quark model. The relativistic corrections determined by the relative motion of quarks are calculated using the production amplitude and the diquark wave functions. Numerical values of the decay widths of the Higgs boson into a baryon pair ccq(bbq) and c¯c¯q¯(b¯b¯q¯) are obtained.

Complete two-loop QCD amplitudes for tW production at hadron colliders

We have calculated the complete two-loop QCD amplitudes for hadronic tW production by combining analytical and numerical techniques. The amplitudes have been first reduced to master integrals of eight planar and seven non-planar families, which can contain at most four massive propagators. Then a rational transformation of the master integrals is found to obtain a good basis so that the dimensional parameter decouples from the kinematic variables in the denominators of reduction coefficients. The master integrals are computed by solving their differential equations numerically. We find that the finite part of the two-loop squared amplitude is stable in the bulk of the phase space. After phase space integration and convolution with the parton distributions, it increases the LO cross section at the 13 TeV LHC by about 3%.

Factorization at next-to-leading power and endpoint divergences in gg → h production

We derive a factorization theorem for the Higgs-boson production amplitude in gluon-gluon fusion induced by a light-quark loop, working at next-to-leading power in soft-collinear effective theory. The factorization is structurally similar to that obtained for the h → γγ decay amplitude induced by a light-quark loop, but additional complications arise because of external color charges. We show how the refactorization-based subtraction scheme developed in previous work leads to a factorization theorem free of endpoint divergences. We use renormalization-group techniques to predict the logarithmically enhanced terms in the three-loop gg → h form factor of order {alpha}_s^3{ln}^kleft(-{M}_h^2/{m}_b^2right) with k = 6, 5, 4, 3. We also resum the first three towers of leading logarithms, {alpha}_s^n{ln}^{2n-k}left(-{M}_h^2/{m}_b^2right) with k = 0, 1, 2, to all orders of perturbation theory.

Relativistic corrections to paired production of charmonium and bottomonium in decays of the Higgs boson

Rare decay process of the Higgs boson into a pair of $J/\Psi$ and $\Upsilon$ particles is studied within perturbative Standard Model and relativistic quark model. The relativistic corrections connected with the relative motion of quarks are calculated in the production amplitude and the wave functions of the bound states. Numerical values of the decay widths of the Higgs boson are obtained, which can be used for comparison with experimental data.

Analytic two-loop master integrals for tW production at hadron colliders. Part II

We present analytic results of the two-loop master integrals for hadronic tW production that contain two massive propagators. For the planar integral family, we succeed in constructing the canonical basis, so the results are written in terms of multiple polylogarithms. The master integrals in the non-planar integral families have been calculated by Taylor series expansion around {m}_W^2 = 0. Even with this simplification, there are multiple square roots involved in the differential equations, which can not be rationalized simultaneously. We find that a proper linear combination of the integral basis alleviates the problem so that the results are expressed by multiple polylogarithms or single integrals over multiple polylogarithms up to weight four. These single integrals can be evaluated using the classic Newton-Cotes formulas. Our analytic results of master integrals would be used in the computation of the two-loop amplitudes for tW production.