At the fundamental level, the interactions of elementary particles are described by quantum gauge field theory. The quantitative implications of these interactions are captured by scattering amplitudes, traditionally computed using Feynman diagrams. In the past decade tremendous progress has been made in our understanding of and computational abilities with regard to scattering amplitudes in gauge theories, going beyond the traditional textbook approach. These advances build upon on-shell methods that focus on the analytic structure of the amplitudes, as well as on their recently discovered hidden symmetries. In fact, when expressed in suitable variables the amplitudes are much simpler than anticipated and hidden patterns emerge. These modern methods are of increasing importance in phenomenological applications arising from the need for high-precision predictions for the experiments carried out at the Large Hadron Collider, as well as in foundational mathematical physics studies on the S-matrix in quantum field theory. Bridging the gap between introductory courses on quantum field theory and state-of-the-art research, these concise yet self-contained and course-tested lecture notes are well-suited for a one-semester graduate level course or as a self-study guide for anyone interested in fundamental aspects of quantum field theory and its applications. The numerous exercises and solutions included will help readers to embrace and apply the material present ed in the main text.
Providing a comprehensive, pedagogical introduction to scattering amplitudes in gauge theory and gravity, this book is ideal for graduate students and researchers. It offers a smooth transition from basic knowledge of quantum field theory to the frontier of modern research. Building on basic quantum field theory, the book starts with an introduction to the spinor helicity formalism in the context of Feynman rules for tree-level amplitudes. The material covered includes on-shell recursion relations, superamplitudes, symmetries of N=4 super Yang–Mills theory, twistors and momentum twistors, Grassmannians, and polytopes. The presentation also covers amplitudes in perturbative supergravity, 3D Chern–Simons matter theories, and color-kinematics duality and its connection to 'gravity=(gauge theory)x(gauge theory)'. Basic knowledge of Feynman rules in scalar field theory and quantum electrodynamics is assumed, but all other tools are introduced as needed. Worked examples demonstrate the techniques discussed, and over 150 exercises help readers absorb and master the material.
Scattering amplitudes are fundamental and rich observables in quantum field theory. Based on the observation that, for massless particles of spin-one or more, scattering amplitudes are much simpler than expected from traditional Feynman diagram techniques, the broad aim of this work is to understand and exploit this hidden structure. It uses methods from twistor theory to provide new insights into the correspondence between scattering amplitudes in supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory and null polygonal Wilson loops. By additionally exploiting the symmetries of the problem, the author succeeds in developing new ways of computing scattering amplitudes.
This work presents some essential techniques that constitute the modern strategy for computing scattering amplitudes. It begins with an introductory chapter to fill the gap between a standard QFT course and the latest developments in the field. The author then tackles the main bottleneck: the computation of the loop Feynman integrals. The most efficient technique for their computation is the method of the differential equations. This is discussed in detail, with a particular focus on the mathematical aspects involved in the derivation of the differential equations and their solution. Ample space is devoted to the special functions arising from the differential equations, to their analytic properties, and to the mathematical techniques which allow us to handle them systematically. The thesis also addresses the application of these techniques to a cutting-edge problem of importance for the physics programme of the Large Hadron Collider: five-particle amplitudes at two-loop order. It presents the first analytic results for complete two-loop five-particle amplitudes, in supersymmetric theories and QCD. The techniques discussed here open the door to precision phenomenology for processes of phenomenological interest, such as three-photon, three-jet, and di-photon + jet production.
This volume, 106 of the Les Houches Summer School series, brings together applications of integrability to supersymmetric gauge and string theory. The book focuses on the application of integrability and problems in quantum field theory. Particular emphasis is given to the exact solution of planar N=4 super-Yang-Mills theory and its relation with string theory on the one hand, and the exact determination of the low-energy physics of N=2 super-Yang-Mills theories on the other; links with other domains are also explored. The purpose of the Les Houches Summer School was to bring together young researchers and specialists from statistical physics, condensed matter physics, gauge and string theory, and mathematics, to stimulate discussion across these different research areas.
This article gives an overview of many of the recent developments in understanding the structure of relativistic scattering amplitudes in gauge theories ranging from QCD to N = 4 super-Yang-Mills theory, as well as (super)gravity. I also provide a pedagogical introduction to some of the basic tools used to organize and illuminate the color and kinematic structure of amplitudes. This article is an invited review introducing a special issue of Journal of Physics A devoted to 'Scattering Amplitudes in Gauge Theories'.
The volume contains the proceedings of the workshop Continuous Advances in QCD 2006, hosted by the Wiliam I Fine Theoretical Physics Institute. This biennial workshop was the seventh meeting of the series, held at the University of Minnesota since 1994. The workshop gathered together about 110 scientists (a record number for the event), including most of the leading experts in quantum chromodynamics and non-Abelian gauge theories in general.
