Loop-tree Duality Research Articles

Integrands of loop amplitudes within loop-tree duality

Using loop-tree duality, we relate a renormalised $n$-point $l$-loop amplitude in a quantum field theory to a phase-space integral of a regularised $l$-fold forward limit of a UV-subtracted $(n+2l)$-point tree-amplitude-like object. We show that up to three loops the latter object is easily computable from recurrence relations. This defines an integrand of the loop amplitude with a global definition of the loop momenta. Field and mass renormalisation are performed in the on-shell scheme.

Open Loop Amplitudes and Causality to All Orders and Powers from the Loop-Tree Duality.

Multiloop scattering amplitudes describing the quantum fluctuations at high-energy scattering processes are the main bottleneck in perturbative quantum field theory. The loop-tree duality is a novel method aimed at overcoming this bottleneck by opening the loop amplitudes into trees and combining them at integrand level with the real-emission matrix elements. In this Letter, we generalize the loop-tree duality to all orders in the perturbative expansion by using the complex Lorentz-covariant prescription of the original one-loop formulation. We introduce a series of mutiloop topologies with arbitrary internal configurations and derive very compact and factorizable expressions of their open-to-trees representation in the loop-tree duality formalism. Furthermore, these expressions are entirely independent at integrand level of the initial assignments of momentum flows in the Feynman representation and remarkably free of noncausal singularities. These properties, that we conjecture to hold to other topologies at all orders, provide integrand representations of scattering amplitudes that exhibit manifest causal singular structures and better numerical stability than in other representations.

Numerical Loop-Tree Duality: contour deformation and subtraction

We introduce a novel construction of a contour deformation within the framework of Loop-Tree Duality for the numerical computation of loop integrals featuring threshold singularities in momentum space. The functional form of our contour deformation automatically satisfies all constraints without the need for fine-tuning. We demonstrate that our construction is systematic and efficient by applying it to more than 100 examples of finite scalar integrals featuring up to six loops. We also showcase a first step towards handling non-integrable singularities by applying our work to one-loop infrared divergent scalar integrals and to the one-loop amplitude for the ordered production of two and three photons. This requires the combination of our contour deformation with local counterterms that regulate soft, collinear and ultraviolet divergences. This work is an important step towards computing higher-order corrections to relevant scattering cross-sections in a fully numerical fashion.

Causality, unitarity thresholds, anomalous thresholds and infrared singularities from the loop-tree duality at higher orders

We present the first comprehensive analysis of the unitarity thresholds and anomalous thresholds of scattering amplitudes at two loops and beyond based on the loop- tree duality, and show how non-causal unphysical thresholds are locally cancelled in an efficient way when the forest of all the dual on-shell cuts is considered as one. We also prove that soft and collinear singularities at two loops and beyond are restricted to a compact region of the loop three-momenta, which is a necessary condition for implementing a local cancellation of loop infrared singularities with the ones appearing in real emission; without relying on a subtraction formalism.

Loop-Tree Duality for Multiloop Numerical Integration.

Loop-tree duality (LTD) offers a promising avenue to numerically integrate multiloop integrals directly in momentum space. It is well established at one loop, but there have been only sparse numerical results at two loops. We provide a formal derivation for a novel multiloop LTD expression and study its threshold singularity structure. We apply our findings numerically to a diverse set of up to four-loop finite topologies with kinematics for which no contour deformation is needed. We also lay down the ground work for constructing such a deformation. Our results serve as an important stepping stone towards a generalized and efficient numerical implementation of LTD, which is applicable to the computation of virtual corrections.

Vanishing of certain cuts or residues of loop integrals with higher powers of the propagators

Starting from two-loops, there are Feynman integrals with higher powers of the propagators. They arise from self-energy insertions on internal lines. Within the loop-tree duality approach or within methods based on numerical unitarity one needs (among other things) the residue when a raised propagator goes on-shell. We show that for renormalised quantities in the on-shell scheme these residues can be made to vanish already at the integrand level.

Causality and Loop-Tree Duality at Higher Loops.

We relate an l-loop Feynman integral to a sum of phase space integrals, where the integrands are determined by the spanning trees of the original l-loop graph. Causality requires that the propagators of the trees have a modified iδ prescription, and we present a simple formula for the correct iδ prescription.

Universal four-dimensional representation of H \u2192 \u03b3\u03b3 at two loops through the Loop-Tree Duality

We extend useful properties of the H → γγ unintegrated dual amplitudes from one- to two-loop level, using the Loop-Tree Duality formalism. In particular, we show that the universality of the functional form — regardless of the nature of the internal particle — still holds at this order. We also present an algorithmic way to renormalise two-loop amplitudes, by locally cancelling the ultraviolet singularities at integrand level, thus allowing a full four-dimensional numerical implementation of the method. Our results are compared with analytic expressions already available in the literature, finding a perfect numerical agreement. The success of this computation plays a crucial role for the development of a fully local four-dimensional framework to compute physical observables at Next-to-Next-to Leading order and beyond.

Universal dual amplitudes and asymptotic expansions for ggrightarrow H and Hrightarrow gamma gamma in four dimensions

Though the one-loop amplitudes of the Higgs boson to massless gauge bosons are finite because there is no direct interaction at tree level in the Standard Model, a well-defined regularization scheme is still required for their correct evaluation. We reanalyze these amplitudes in the framework of the four-dimensional unsubtraction and the loop-tree duality (FDU/LTD), and show how a local renormalization solves potential regularization ambiguities. The Higgs boson interactions are also used to illustrate new additional advantages of this formalism. We show that LTD naturally leads to very compact integrand expressions in four space-time dimensions of the one-loop amplitude with virtual electroweak gauge bosons. They exhibit the same functional form as the amplitudes with top quarks and charged scalars, thus opening further possibilities for simplifications in higher-order computations. Another outstanding application is the straightforward implementation of asymptotic expansions by using dual amplitudes. One of the main benefits of the LTD representation is that it is supported in a Euclidean space. This characteristic feature naturally leads to simpler asymptotic expansions.

From Jacobi off-shell currents to integral relations

In this paper, we study off-shell currents built from the Jacobi identity of the kinematic numerators of gg → X with X=ss,qoverline{q}, gg . We find that these currents can be schematically written in terms of three-point interaction Feynman rules. This representation allows for a straightforward understanding of the Colour-Kinematics duality as well as for the construction of the building blocks for the generation of higher-multiplicity tree-level and multi-loop numerators. We also provide one-loop integral relations through the Loop-Tree duality formalism with potential applications and advantages for the computation of relevant physical processes at the Large Hadron Collider. We illustrate these integral relations with the explicit examples of QCD one-loop numerators of gg → ss.

QED and QCD self-energy corrections through the loop-tree duality

The loop-tree duality (LTD) theorem establishes that loop contributions to scattering amplitudes can be computed through dual integrals, which are build from single cuts of the virtual diagrams. In order to build a complete LTD representation of a cross section and to achieve a local cancellation of singularities, it is crucial to include the renormalized self-energy corrections in an unintegrated form. In this document, we calculate the scalar functions related to the self-energy corrections in QED and QCD in the LTD formalism and extract explicitly their UV behaviour.

New Developments with the Loop-tree Duality

New Developments with the Loop-tree Duality

Four-dimensional unsubtraction with massive particles

We extend the four-dimensional unsubtraction method, which is based on the loop-tree duality (LTD), to deal with processes involving heavy particles. The method allows to perform the summation over degenerate IR configurations directly at integrand level in such a way that NLO corrections can be implemented directly in four space-time dimensions. We define a general momentum mapping between the real and virtual kinematics that accounts properly for the quasi-collinear configurations, and leads to an smooth massless limit. We illustrate the method first with an scalar toy example, and then analyse the case of the decay of a scalar or vector boson into a pair of massive quarks. The results presented in this paper are suitable for the application of the method to any multipartonic process.

NLO cross sections in 4 dimensions without DREG

In this review, we present a new method for computing physical cross sections at NLO accuracy in QCD without using the standard Dimensional Regularisation. The algorithm is based on the Loop-Tree Duality theorem, which allow us to obtain loop integrals as a sum of phase-space integrals; in this way, transforming loop integrals into phase-space integrals, we propose a method to merge virtual and real contributions in order to find observables at NLO in d = 4 space-time dimensions. In addition, the strategy described is used for computing the γ* → qq̅(g) process. A more detailed discussion related on this topic can be found in Ref [1].

Four-dimensional unsubtraction from the loop-tree duality

We present a new algorithm to construct a purely four dimensional representation of higher-order perturbative corrections to physical cross-sections at next-to-leading order (NLO). The algorithm is based on the loop-tree duality (LTD), and it is implemented by introducing a suitable mapping between the external and loop momenta of the virtual scattering amplitudes, and the external momenta of the real emission corrections. In this way, the sum over degenerate infrared states is performed at integrand level and the cancellation of infrared divergences occurs locally without introducing subtraction counter-terms to deal with soft and final-state collinear singularities. The dual representation of ultraviolet counter-terms is also discussed in detail, in particular for self-energy contributions. The method is first illustrated with the scalar three-point function, before proceeding with the calculation of the physical cross-section for $\gamma^* \to q \bar{q}(g)$, and its generalisation to multi-leg processes. The extension to next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO) is briefly commented.

The loop-tree duality at NLO and beyond

We review the recent developments of the loop-tree duality method, focussing our discussion on analysing the singular behaviour of the loop integrand of the dual representation of one-loop integrals and scattering amplitudes. We show that within the loop-tree duality method there is a partial cancellation of singularities at the integrand level among the different components of the corresponding dual representation. The remaining threshold and infrared singularities are restricted to a finite region of the loop momentum space, which is of the size of the external momenta and can be mapped to the phase-space of real corrections to cancel the soft and collinear divergences.

Towards gauge theories in four dimensions

The abundance of infrared singularities in gauge theories due to unresolved emission of massless particles (soft and collinear) represents the main difficulty in perturbative calculations. They are typically regularized in dimensional regularization, and their subtraction is usually achieved independently for virtual and real corrections. In this paper, we introduce a new method based on the loop-tree duality (LTD) theorem to accomplish the summation over degenerate infrared states directly at the integrand level such that the cancellation of the infrared divergences is achieved simultaneously, and apply it to reference examples as a proof of concept. Ultraviolet divergences, which are the consequence of the point-like nature of the theory, are also reinterpreted physically in this framework. The proposed method opens the intriguing possibility of carrying out purely four-dimensional implementations of higher-order perturbative calculations at next-to-leading order (NLO) and beyond free of soft and final-state collinear subtractions.

Towards a Numerical Implementation of the Loop-Tree Duality Method

We review the recent progress on the numerical implementation of the Loop-Tree Duality Method (LTDM) for the calculation of scattering amplitudes. A central point is the analysis of the singularities of the integrand. In the frame-work of the LTDM some of these singularities cancel out. The ones left over are dealt with by contour deformation. We present details on how to achieve this as well as first results.

News on the Loop-tree Duality

News on the Loop-tree Duality

Towards a Loop-Tree Duality at Two Loops and Beyond

We present an extension of the duality theorem, previously defined by S. Catani et al. on the one-loop level, to higher loop orders. The duality theorem provides a relation between loop integrals and tree-level phase-space integrals. Here, the one-loop relation is rederived in a way which is more suitable for its extension to higher loop orders. This is shown in detail by considering the two-loop N-leg master diagram and by a short discussion of the four master diagrams at three loops, in this sketching the general structure of the duality theorem at even higher loop orders.