No Arabic abstract
In this paper we provide a first attempt towards a toric geometric interpretation of scattering amplitudes. In recent investigations it has indeed been proposed that the all-loop integrand of planar N=4 SYM can be represented in terms of well defined finite objects called on-shell diagrams drawn on disks. Furthermore it has been shown that the physical information of on-shell diagrams is encoded in the geometry of auxiliary algebraic varieties called the totally non negative Grassmannians. In this new formulation the infinite dimensional symmetry of the theory is manifest and many results, that are quite tricky to obtain in terms of the standard Lagrangian formulation of the theory, are instead manifest. In this paper, elaborating on previous results, we provide another picture of the scattering amplitudes in terms of toric geometry. In particular we describe in detail the toric varieties associated to an on-shell diagram, how the singularities of the amplitudes are encoded in some subspaces of the toric variety, and how this picture maps onto the Grassmannian description. Eventually we discuss the action of cluster transformations on the toric varieties. The hope is to provide an alternative description of the scattering amplitudes that could contribute in the developing of this very interesting field of research.
It has recently been claimed that a Cardy-like limit of the superconformal index of 4d $mathcal{N}=4$ SYM accounts for the entropy function, whose Legendre transform corresponds to the entropy of the holographic dual AdS$_5$ rotating black hole. Here we study this Cardy-like limit for $mathcal{N}=1$ toric quiver gauge theories, observing that the corresponding entropy function can be interpreted in terms of the toric data. Furthermore, for some families of models, we compute the Legendre transform of the entropy function, comparing with similar results recently discussed in the literature.
We calculate some tree level scattering amplitudes for a generalization of the protostring, which is a novel string model implied by the simplest string bit models. These bit models produce a lightcone worldsheet which supports $s$ integer moded Grassmann fields. In the generalization we supplement this Grassmann worldsheet system with $d=24-s$ transverse coordinate worldsheet fields. The protostring corresponds to $s=24$ and the bosonic string to $s=0$. The interaction vertex is a simple overlap with no operator insertions at the break/join point. Assuming that $s$ is even we calculate the multi-string scattering amplitudes by bosonizing the Grassmann fields, each pair equivalent to one compactified bosonic field, and applying Mandelstams interacting string formalism to a system of $s/2$ compactified and $d$ uncompactified bosonic worldsheet fields. We obtain all amplitudes for open strings with no oscillator excitations and for closed strings with no oscillator excitations and zero winding number. We then study in detail some simple special cases. Multi-string processes with maximal helicity violation have much simplified amplitudes. We also specialize to general four string amplitudes and discuss their high energy behavior. Most of these models are not covariant under the full Lorentz group $O(d+1,1)$. The exceptions are the bosonic string whose Lorentz group is $O(25,1)$ and the protostring whose Lorentz group is $O(1,1)$. The models in between only enjoy an $O(1,1)times O(d)$ spacetime symmetry.
We consider $d=3$, $mathcal{N}=2$ gauge theories arising on membranes sitting at the apex of an arbitrary toric Calabi-Yau 4-fold cone singularity that are then further compactified on a Riemann surface, $Sigma_g$, with a topological twist that preserves two supersymmetries. If the theories flow to a superconformal quantum mechanics in the infrared, then they have a $D=11$ supergravity dual of the form AdS$_2times Y_9$, with electric four-form flux and where $Y_9$ is topologically a fibration of a Sasakian $Y_7$ over $Sigma_g$. These $D=11$ solutions are also expected to arise as the near horizon limit of magnetically charged black holes in AdS$_4times Y_7$, with a Sasaki-Einstein metric on $Y_7$. We show that an off-shell entropy function for the dual AdS$_2$ solutions may be computed using the toric data and Kahler class parameters of the Calabi-Yau 4-fold, that are encoded in a master volume, as well as a set of integers that determine the fibration of $Y_7$ over $Sigma_g$ and a Kahler class parameter for $Sigma_g$. We also discuss the class of supersymmetric AdS$_3times Y_7$ solutions of type IIB supergravity with five-form flux only in the case that $Y_7$ is toric, and show how the off-shell central charge of the dual field theory can be obtained from the toric data. We illustrate with several examples, finding agreement both with explicit supergravity solutions as well as with some known field theory results concerning ${cal I}$-extremization.
It is shown that the generating function of $mathscr{N}=2$ topological strings, in the heterotic weak coupling limit, is identified with the partition function of a six-dimensional Melvin background. This background, which corresponds to an exact CFT, realises in string theory the six-dimensional $varOmega$-background of Nekrasov, in the case of opposite deformation parameters $epsilon_1=-epsilon_2$, thus providing the known perturbative part of the Nekrasov partition function in the field theory limit. The analysis is performed on both heterotic and type I strings and for the cases of ordinary $mathscr{N}=2$ and $mathscr{N}=2^*$ theories.
We emphasize that scattering amplitudes of a wide class of models to any order in the coupling are constructible by on-shell tree subamplitudes. This follows from the Feynman-tree theorem combined with BCFW on-shell recursion relations. In contrast to the usual Feynman diagrams, no virtual particles appear.