No Arabic abstract
BPS Wilson loops in supersymmetric gauge theories have been the subjects of active research since they are often amenable to exact computation. So far most of the studies have focused on loops that do not intersect. In this paper, we derive exact results for intersecting 1/8 BPS Wilson loops in N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory, using a combination of supersymmetric localization and the loop equation in 2d gauge theory. The result is given by a novel matrix-model-like representation which couples multiple contour integrals and a Gaussian matrix model. We evaluate the integral at large N, and make contact with the string worldsheet description at strong coupling. As an application of our results, we compute exactly a small-angle limit (and more generally near-BPS limits) of the cross anomalous dimension which governs the UV divergence of intersecting Wilson lines. The same quantity describes the soft anomalous dimension of scattering amplitudes of W-bosons in the Coulomb branch.
We present the complete formula for the cusp anomalous dimension at four loops in QCD and in maximally supersymmetric Yang-Mills. In the latter theory it is given by begin{equation} {Gamma}^{rm}_{rm cusp}Big|_{alpha_s^4} = -left( frac{alpha_s N}{pi}right)^4 left[ frac{73 pi^6}{20160} + frac{ zeta_{3}^2}{8} + frac{1}{N^2} left( frac{31pi^6}{5040} + frac{9 zeta_3^2}{4} right) right] ,. onumber end{equation} Our approach is based on computing the correlation function of a rectangular light-like Wilson loop with a Lagrangian insertion, normalized by the expectation value of the Wilson loop. In maximally supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory, this ratio is a finite function of a cross-ratio and the coupling constant. We compute it to three loops, including the full colour dependence. Integrating over the position of the Lagrangian insertion gives the four-loop Wilson loop. We extract its leading divergence, which determines the four-loop cusp anomalous dimension. Finally, we employ a supersymmetric decomposition to derive the last missing ingredient in the corresponding QCD result.
We study event shapes in N=4 SYM describing the angular distribution of energy and R-charge in the final states created by the simplest half-BPS scalar operator. Applying the approach developed in the companion paper arXiv:1309.0769, we compute these observables using the correlation functions of certain components of the N=4 stress-tensor supermultiplet: the half-BPS operator itself, the R-symmetry current and the stress tensor. We present master formulas for the all-order event shapes as convolutions of the Mellin amplitude defining the correlation function of the half-BPS operators, with a coupling-independent kernel determined by the choice of the observable. We find remarkably simple relations between various event shapes following from N=4 superconformal symmetry. We perform thorough checks at leading order in the weak coupling expansion and show perfect agreement with the conventional calculations based on amplitude techniques. We extend our results to strong coupling using the correlation function of half-BPS operators obtained from the AdS/CFT correspondence.
We consider the ambitwistor description of $mathcal N$=4 supersymmetric extension of U($N$) Yang-Mills theory on Minkowski space $mathbb R^{3,1}$. It is shown that solutions of super-Yang-Mills equations are encoded in real-analytic U($N$)-valued functions on a domain in superambitwistor space ${mathcal L}_{mathbb R}^{5|6}$ of real dimension $(5|6)$. This leads to a procedure for generating solutions of super-Yang-Mills equations on $mathbb R^{3,1}$ via solving a Riemann-Hilbert-type factorization problem on two-spheres in $mathcal L_{mathbb R}^{5|6}$.
We compute the nonplanar contribution to the universal anomalous dimension of the SU(4)-singlet twist-two operators in N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory at four loops through Lorentz spin 18. From this, we numerically evaluate the nonplanar contribution to the four-loop lightlike cusp anomalous dimension and derive the transcendental $zeta_3$ and $zeta_5$ parts of the universal anomalous dimension for arbitrary Lorentz spin in analytic form. As for the lightlike cusp anomalous dimension and the $zeta_5$ part of the universal anomalous dimension, we confirm previous results.
Using holography we have studied the time-dependent potential of a quark-antiquark pair in a dynamical strongly coupled plasma. The time-dependent plasma, whose dynamics is originated from the energy injection, is dual to AdS-Vaidya background. The quark-antiquark pair is represented by the endpoints of a string stretched from the boundary to the bulk. The evolution of the system is studied by evaluating the potential between quark and anti-quark, extracted from the expectation value of the Wilson loop, throughout the process. Our results show that the time-dependent potential depends on the speed of injecting energy as well as the final temperature of the plasma. For high enough temperatures and rapid energy injection, the potential starts oscillating around its equilibrium value, immediately after the injection.