Causality, unitarity and symmetry in effective field theory

Sum rules in effective field theories, predicated upon causality, place restrictions on scattering amplitudes mediated by effective contact interactions. Through unitarity of the S-matrix, these imply that the size of higher dimensional corrections to transition amplitudes between different states is bounded by the strength of their contributions to elastic forward scattering processes. This places fundamental limits on the extent to which hypothetical symmetries can be broken by effective interactions. All analysis is for dimension 8 operators in the forward limit. Included is a thorough derivation of all positivity bounds for a chiral fermion in SU(2) and SU(3) global symmetry representations resembling those of the Standard Model, general bounds on flavour violation, new bounds for interactions between particles of different spin, inclusion of loops of dimension 6 operators and illustration of the resulting strengthening of positivity bounds over tree-level expectations, a catalogue of supersymmetric effective interactions up to mass dimension 8 and 4 legs and the demonstration that supersymmetry unifies the positivity theorems as well as the new bounds.

Sharp boundaries for the swampland

We reconsider the problem of bounding higher derivative couplings in consistent weakly coupled gravitational theories, starting from general assumptions about analyticity and Regge growth of the S-matrix. Higher derivative couplings are expected to be of order one in the units of the UV cutoff. Our approach justifies this expectation and allows to prove precise bounds on the order one coefficients. Our main tool are dispersive sum rules for the S-matrix. We overcome the difficulties presented by the graviton pole by measuring couplings at small impact parameter, rather than in the forward limit. We illustrate the method in theories containing a massless scalar coupled to gravity, and in theories with maximal supersymmetry.

A functional approach to the next-to-eikonal approximation of high energy gravitational scattering

The Fradkin–Schwinger functional methods to represent a Green function in an external gravitational field are used to study the eikonal and the next-to-eikonal limit, including the nonlinear gravitational interactions, of the scattering amplitudes of an ultra-relativistic scalar particle on a static super-massive scalar target in the nearly forward limit. The functional approach confirms the exponentiation of the leading eikonal which also applies to the first non-leading power in the energy of the light particle, moreover includes the interaction at impact parameter much larger than the Schwarzschild radius associated with the center of mass energy in the ultra-relativistic limit.

The Missing Link: A Closed Form Solution to the Kermack and McKendrick Model Equations

Susceptible infectious recovered (SIR) models are widely used for estimating the dynamics of epidemics. Such models project that containment measures flatten the curve, i.e., reduce but delay the peak in daily infections, cause a longer epidemic, and increase the death toll. These projections have entered common understanding; individuals and governments often advocate lifting containment measures such as social distancing to shift the peak forward, limit societal and economic disruption, and reduce mortality. It was, then, an extraordinary surprise to discover that COVID-19 pandemic data exhibit phenomenology opposite to the projections of SIR models. With the knowledge that the commonly used SIR equations only approximate the original equations developed to describe epidemics, we identified a closed form solution to the original epidemic equations. Unlike the commonly used approximations, the closed form solution replicates the observed phenomenology and quantitates pandemic dynamics with simple analytical tools for policy makers. The complete solution is validated using independently measured mobility data and accurately predicts COVID19 case numbers in multiple countries.

Propagators, BCFW recursion and new scattering equations at one loop

We investigate how loop-level propagators arise from tree level via a forward-limit procedure in two modern approaches to scattering amplitudes, namely the BCFW recursion relations and the scattering equations formalism. In the first part of the paper, we revisit the BCFW construction of one-loop integrands in momentum space, using a convenient parametrisation of the D-dimensional loop momentum. We work out explicit examples with and without supersymmetry, and discuss the non-planar case in both gauge theory and gravity. In the second part of the paper, we study an alternative approach to one-loop integrands, where these are written as worldsheet formulas based on new one-loop scattering equations. These equations, which are inspired by BCFW, lead to standard Feynman-type propagators, instead of the ‘linear’-type loop-level propagators that first arose from the formalism of ambitwistor strings. We exploit the analogies between the two approaches, and present a proof of an all-multiplicity worldsheet formula using the BCFW recursion.

Masses and electric charges: gauge anomalies and anomalous thresholds

We work out in the forward limit and up to order $$e^6$$ e 6 in perturbation theory the collinear divergences. In this kinematical regime we discover new collinear divergences that we argue can be only cancelled using quantum interference with processes contributing to the gauge anomaly. This rules out the possibility of a quantum consistent and anomaly free theory with massless charges and long range interactions. We use the anomalous threshold singularities to derive a gravitational lower bound on the mass of the lightest charged fermion.

Teichmüller space of a countable set of points on the Riemann sphere

We introduce the Teichm?ller space T(E) of an ordered countable set E of infinite number of distinct points on the Riemann sphere. We discuss the relation between the Teichm?ller distance on T(E) and a natural one on the configuration space for E. Also we give a system of global holomorphic coordinates for T(E) when E is determined from a finitely generated semigroup consisting of M?bius transformations with the totally disconnected forward limit set.