Regge Behavior Research Articles

String loops and gravitational positivity bounds: imprint of light particles at high energies

Abstract We study loop corrections to positivity bounds on effective field theories in the context of 2 → 2 scattering in gravitational theories, in the presence of light particles. It has been observed that certain negative contributions at low energies are enhanced by inverse powers of a small mass m and are nontrivial to cancel against other low-energy contributions. These originate from near the forward limit of diagrams involving graviton exchange. We observe that scattering in this kinematics domain remains infrared-sensitive even at high center-of-mass energy. By considering a string-inspired model in which high-energy loops can be calculated using unitarity and Regge behavior of tree amplitudes, we uncover a natural mechanism through which 1/m-enhanced terms perfectly cancel between low and high energy contributions. This concretely explains possible positivity violations in the presence of gravity from the high-energy viewpoint.

Constraints on Regge behavior from IR physics

Constraints on Regge behavior from IR physics

Phenomenological model for the γγ→π+π−π0 reaction

We present a phenomenological model for the $\gamma\gamma \to \pi^+\pi^-\pi^0$ reaction by including the production mechanism of the $a_2(1320)$ resonance, as well as the contributions from the $\sigma/f_0(500)\, \pi^0$ and $f_2(1270)\, \pi^0 $ production channels. Furthermore, the $\gamma\gamma\to\rho^{\pm} \pi^{\mp}\to\pi^{+}\pi^-\pi^0$ channel, which is essential for a description in the low-energy region, is investigated carefully by introducing the complete set of gauge invariant and Lorentz-covariant tensors for the $\gamma\gamma\to\rho^\pm \pi^\mp$ subprocess. The full amplitude is constructed to yield a correct high-energy Regge behavior. Within our model, we achieve a very reasonable description of ARGUS and L3 data of the total cross section, as well as of the $\pi^\pm\pi^0$ and $\pi^+\pi^-$ invariant mass distributions. We also predict the invariant mass distributions in the $\gamma\gamma$ center-of-mass energy range from $0.8$ GeV to $2.0$ GeV, which will be studied by the forthcoming data of the BESIII collaboration.

Testing a conjecture on quantum chromodynamics

A Planck-scale model that includes quantum chromodynamics and goes beyond it, is tested against observations. The model is based on a single fundamental principle. Starting with Dirac’s proposal describing spin [Formula: see text] particles as tethered objects, quarks and elementary fermions are conjectured to be fluctuating rational tangles with unobservable tethers. Such tangles obey the free Dirac equation. Classifying rational tangles naturally yields the observed spectrum of elementary fermions, including the six quark types and their quantum numbers. Classifying tangle deformations naturally yields exactly three types of gauge interactions, three types of elementary gauge bosons, and the symmetry groups U(1), broken SU(2) and SU(3). The possible rational tangles for quarks, leptons, Higgs and gauge bosons allow only the observed Feynman diagrams. The complete Lagrangian of the standard model — without any modification and including the Lagrangian of quantum chromodynamics — arises in a natural manner. Over 90 experimental consequences and tests about quark and gluon behavior are deduced from the single fundamental principle. No consequence is in contrast with observations. The consequences of the strand conjecture include the complete quark model for hadrons, the correct sign of hadron quadrupole moments, color flux tubes, confinement, Regge behavior, running quark masses, correctly predicted hadron mass sequences, the lack of CP violation for the strong interaction, asymptotic freedom, and the appearance of glueballs. Two consequences differ from quantum chromodynamics. First, the geometry of the strand process for the strong interaction leads to an ab-initio estimate for the running strong coupling constant. Second, the tangle shapes lead to ab-initio lower and upper limits for the mass values of the quarks.

Small-x Evolution of the Gluon Generalized Parton Distribution E_{g} of the Nucleon.

We study the small-x evolution equation for the gluon generalized parton distribution E_{g} of the nucleon. It is shown that E_{g} at vanishing skewness exhibits the Regge behavior identical to the Balitsky-Fadin-Kuraev-Lipatov pomeron despite its association with nucleon helicity-flip processes. We also consider the effect of gluon saturation and demonstrate that E_{g} gets saturated in the same way as its helicity-nonflip counterpart H_{g}. Our result has a direct impact on the modeling of E_{g} as well as the small-x contribution to nucleon spin sum rules.

Towards a theory of bottom-up holographic models for linear Regge trajectories of light mesons

We advance in constructing a bottom-up holographic theory of linear meson Regge trajectories that generalizes and unites into one logical framework various bottom-up holographic approaches proposed in the past and scattered in the literature. The starting point of the theory is a quadratic in fields holographic five-dimensional action in which the Poincaré invariance along the holographic coordinate is violated in the most general way compatible with the linear Regge behavior of the discrete spectrum in four dimensions. It is further demonstrated how different Soft Wall (SW) like holographic models existing in the literature plus some new ones emerge from our general setup. Various interrelations between the emerging models are studied. These models include the known SW models with different sign in the exponential background, the SW models with certain generalized backgrounds, with modified metrics, and No Wall models with 5D mass depending on the holographic coordinate in a simple polynomial way. We argue that this dependence allows to describe the effects caused by the main non-local phenomena of strongly coupled 4D gauge theory, the confinement and chiral symmetry breaking, in terms of a local 5D dual field theory in the AdS space. We provide a detailed comparison of our approach with the Light Front holographic QCD, with the spectroscopic predictions of the dual Veneziano like amplitudes, and with the experimental Regge phenomenology. We apply our general approach to a holographic study of confinement, chiral symmetry breaking, and the pion form factor.

Regge trajectories for the (2, 0) theories

We investigate the structure of conformal Regge trajectories for the maximally supersymmetric (2, 0) theories in six dimensions. The different conformal multiplets in a single superconformal multiplet must all have similarly-shaped Regge trajectories. We show that these super-descendant trajectories interact in interesting ways, leading to new constraints on their shape. For the four-point function of the stress tensor multiplet supersymmetry also softens the Regge behavior in some channels, and consequently we observe that ‘analyticity in spin’ holds for all spins greater than −3. All the physical operators in this correlator therefore lie on Regge trajectories and we describe an iterative scheme where the Lorentzian inversion formula can be used to bootstrap the four-point function. Some numerical experiments yield promising results, with OPE data approaching the numerical bootstrap results for all theories with rank greater than one.

Massless positivity in graviton exchange

We formulate Positivity Bounds for scattering amplitudes including exchange of massless particles. We generalize the standard construction through dispersion relations to include the presence of a branch cut along the real axis in the complex plane for the Maldestam variable $s$. In general, validity of these bounds require the cancellation of divergences in the forward limit of the amplitude, proportional to $t^{-1}$ and $\log(t)$. We show that this is possible in the case of gravitons if one assumes a Regge behavior of the amplitude at high energies below the Planck scale, as previously suggested in the literature, and that the concrete UV behaviour of the amplitude is uniquely determined by the structure of IR divergences. We thus extend previous results by including a sub-leading logarithmic term, which we show to be universal. The bounds that we present here have the potential of constraining very general models of modified gravity and EFTs of matter coupled to gravitation.

Dispersive CFT sum rules

We give a unified treatment of dispersive sum rules for four-point correlators in conformal field theory. We call a sum rule “dispersive” if it has double zeros at all double-twist operators above a fixed twist gap. Dispersive sum rules have their conceptual origin in Lorentzian kinematics and absorptive physics (the notion of double discontinuity). They have been discussed using three seemingly different methods: analytic functionals dual to double-twist operators, dispersion relations in position space, and dispersion relations in Mellin space. We show that these three approaches can be mapped into one another and lead to completely equivalent sum rules. A central idea of our discussion is a fully nonperturbative expansion of the correlator as a sum over Polyakov-Regge blocks. Unlike the usual OPE sum, the Polyakov-Regge expansion utilizes the data of two separate channels, while having (term by term) good Regge behavior in the third channel. We construct sum rules which are non-negative above the double-twist gap; they have the physical interpretation of a subtracted version of “superconvergence” sum rules. We expect dispersive sum rules to be a very useful tool to study expansions around mean-field theory, and to constrain the low-energy description of holographic CFTs with a large gap. We give examples of the first kind of applications, notably we exhibit a candidate extremal functional for the spin-two gap problem.

Ratio of cross-sections of kaons to pions produced in pp collisions as a function of $$\sqrt{s}$$

A calculation of the inclusive spectra of pions and kaons produced in $pp$ collisions as functions of their transverse momentum $p_t$ at mid-rapidity is presented within the self-similarity approach. A satisfactory description of the data within a wide range of initial energies is presented. We focus mainly on the ratio of cross-sections of $K^\pm$ to $\pi^\pm$ mesons produced in $pp$ collisions as a function of $\sqrt{s}$. A fast rise of this ratio, when the initial energy increases starting from the kaon production threshold up to $\sqrt{s}\simeq$ 20-30 Gev, is revealed together with its very slow increase up to LHC energies. The energy dependence of this ratio is due to the conservation laws of four-momenta and quantum numbers of the initial and produced hadrons, and to the Regge behavior of cross-sections at large energies. The more or less satisfactory agreement of these ratios with NA61-SHINE, RHIC and LHC data is demonstrated.

Gravitational positivity bounds

We study the validity of positivity bounds in the presence of a massless graviton, assuming the Regge behavior of the amplitude. Under this assumption, the problematic t-channel pole is canceled with the UV integral of the imaginary part of the amplitude in the dispersion relation, which gives rise to finite corrections to the positivity bounds. We find that low-energy effective field theories (EFT) with “wrong” sign are generically allowed. The allowed amount of the positivity violation is determined by the Regge behavior. This violation is suppressed by {M}_{mathrm{pl}}^{-2}alpha^{prime } where α′ is the scale of Reggeization. This implies that the positivity bounds can be applied only when the cutoff scale of EFT is much lower than the scale of Reggeization. We then obtain the positivity bounds on scalar-tensor EFT at one-loop level. Implications of our results on the degenerate higher-order scalar-tensor (DHOST) theory are also discussed.

A generalized Nachtmann theorem in CFT

Correlators of unitary quantum field theories in Lorentzian signature obey certain analyticity and positivity properties. For interacting unitary CFTs in more than two dimensions, we show that these properties impose general constraints on families of minimal twist operators that appear in the OPEs of primary operators. In particular, we rederive and extend the convexity theorem which states that for the family of minimal twist operators with even spins appearing in the reflection-symmetric OPE of any scalar primary, twist must be a monotonically increasing convex function of the spin. Our argument is completely non-perturbative and it also applies to the OPE of nonidentical scalar primaries in unitary CFTs, constraining the twist of spinning operators appearing in the OPE. Finally, we argue that the same methods also impose constraints on the Regge behavior of certain CFT correlators.

Regge OPE blocks and light-ray operators

We consider the structure of the operator product expansion (OPE) in conformal field theory by employing the OPE block formalism. The OPE block acted on the vacuum is promoted to an operator and its implications are examined on a non-vacuum state. We demonstrate that the OPE block is dominated by a light-ray operator in the Regge limit, which reproduces precisely the Regge behavior of conformal blocks when used inside scalar four-point functions. Motivated by this observation, we propose a new form of the OPE block, called the light-ray channel OPE block that has a well-behaved expansion dominated by a light-ray operator in the Regge limit. We also show that the two OPE blocks have the same asymptotic form in the Regge limit and confirm the assertion that the Regge limit of a pair of spacelike-separated operators in a Minkowski patch is equivalent to the OPE limit of a pair of timelike-separated operators associated with the original pair in a different Minkowski patch.

More on heavy-light bootstrap up to double-stress-tensor

We investigate the heavy-light four-point function up to double-stress-tensor, supplementing 1910.06357. By using the OPE coefficients of lowest-twist double-stress- tensor in the literature, we find the Regge behavior for lowest-twist double-stress-tensor in general even dimension within the large impact parameter regime. In the next, we perform the Lorentzian inversion formula to obtain both the OPE coefficients and anomalous dimensions of double-twist operators [ mathcal{O} H mathcal{O} L]n,J with finite spin J in d = 4. We also extract the anomalous dimensions of double-twist operators with finite spin in general dimension, which allows us to address the cases that ∆L is specified to the poles in lowest-twist double-stress-tensors where certain double-trace operators [ mathcal{O} L mathcal{O} L]n,J mix with lowest-twist double-stress-tensors. In particular, we verify and discuss the Residue relation that deter- mines the product of the mixed anomalous dimension and the mixed OPE. We also present the double-trace and mixed OPE coefficients associated with ∆L poles in d = 6, 8. In the end, we turn to discuss CFT2, we verify the uniqueness of double-stress-tensor that is consistent with Virasoso symmetry.

Crossing symmetry, transcendentality and the Regge behaviour of 1d CFTs

We develop the technology for Polyakov-Mellin (PM) bootstrap in one- dimensional conformal field theories (CFT1). By adding appropriate contact terms, we bootstrap various effective field theories in AdS2 and analytically compute the CFT data to one loop. The computation can be extended to higher orders in perturbation theory, if we ignore mixing, for any external dimension. We develop PM bootstrap for O(N ) theories and derive the necessary contact terms for such theories (which also involves a new higher gradient contact term absent for N = 1). We perform cross-checks which include considering the diagonal limit of the 2d Ising model in terms of the 1d PM blocks. As an independent check of the validity of the results obtained with PM bootstrap, we propose a suitable basis of transcendental functions, which allows to fix the four-point correlators of identical scalar primaries completely, up to a finite number of ambiguities related to the number of contact terms in the PM basis. We perform this analysis both at tree level (with and without exchanges) and at one loop. We also derive expressions for the corresponding CFT data in terms of harmonic sums. Finally, we consider the Regge limit of one-dimensional correlators and derive a precise connection between the latter and the large-twist limit of CFT data. Exploiting this result, we study the crossing equation in the three OPE limits and derive some universal constraints for the large-twist limit of CFT data in Regge-bounded theories with a finite number of exchanges.

Dispersion relation for CFT four-point functions

We present a dispersion relation in conformal field theory which expresses the four point function as an integral over its single discontinuity. Exploiting the analytic properties of the OPE and crossing symmetry of the correlator, we show that in perturbative settings the correlator depends only on the spectrum of the theory, as well as the OPE coefficients of certain low twist operators, and can be reconstructed unambiguously. In contrast to the Lorentzian inversion formula, the validity of the dispersion relation does not assume Regge behavior and is not restricted to the exchange of spinning operators. As an application, the correlator 〈ϕϕϕϕ〉 in ϕ4 theory at the Wilson-Fisher fixed point is computed in closed form to order є2 in the E expansion.

Similarity and specifics of polarization in hadronic and heavy-ion collisions

The basic ingredients of baryon polarization emerging in the collisions of hadrons and heavy ions are compared. The apperance of the pseudovector as the normal to reaction plane, axial anomaly, as a spin-orbital interaction, and dissipation, as imaginary phase are discussed. The interplay beyween chenical potential and Regge behaviour and the hadronic analog of viscosity are outlined. The experimental studies of transition of hadrons to heavy ions, in particular at NICA (JINR) is discussed.

Universality of Generalized Parton Distributions in Light-Front Holographic QCD.

The structure of generalized parton distributions is determined from light-front holographic QCD up to a universal reparametrization function w(x) which incorporates Regge behavior at small x and inclusive counting rules at x→1. A simple ansatz for w(x) that fulfills these physics constraints with a single-parameter results in precise descriptions of both the nucleon and the pion quark distribution functions in comparison with global fits. The analytic structure of the amplitudes leads to a connection with the Veneziano model and hence to a nontrivial connection with Regge theory and the hadron spectrum.

Scattering amplitudes of regularized bosonic strings

We compute scattering amplitudes of the regularized bosonic Nambu-Goto string in the mean-field approximation, disregarding fluctuations of the Lagrange multiplier and an independent metric about their mean values. We use the previously introduced Lilliputian scaling limit to recover the Regge behavior of the amplitudes with the usual linear Regge trajectory in space-time dimensions d>2. We demonstrate a stability of this minimum of the effective action under fluctuations for d<26.

Unitarity and positivity constraints for CFT at large central charge

We consider the four-point correlator of the stress tensor multiplet in mathcal{N}=4 SYM in the limit of large central charge c ∼ N2. For finite values of g2N single-trace intermediate operators arise at order 1/c and this leads to specific poles in the Mellin representation of the correlator. The sign of the residue at these poles is fixed by unitarity. We consider solutions consistent with crossing symmetry and this pole structure. We show that in a certain regime all solutions result in a negative contribution to the anomalous dimension of twist four operators. The reason behind this is a positivity property of Mack polynomials that leads to a positivity condition for the Mellin amplitude. This positivity condition can also be proven by assuming the correct Regge behaviour for the Mellin amplitude. For large g2N we recover a tower of solutions in one to one correspondence with local interactions in a effective field theory in the AdS bulk, with the appropriate suppression factors, and with definite overall signs. These signs agree with the signs that would follow from causality constraints on the effective field theory. The positivity constraints arising from CFT for the Mellin amplitude take a very similar form to the causality constraint for the forward limit of the S-matrix.