We study the fusion of two conjugate conformal line defects on the sphere. At small separation, their spectrum is governed by a universal Fusion Master Equation. Below a critical coupling, the fused defect has two conformal fixed points; at criticality, they collide and move into the complex plane, producing walking RG behaviour. Although individual energy levels then drift with the UV scale and are scheme dependent, the SL(2,ℝ) Casimir continues to commute with the Hamiltonian below that scale. This organises the spectrum into conformal families and fixes a universal, scheme-independent density of states. We derive this structure in the planar ladder model and obtain an exact finite-coupling description of conjugate 1/2-BPS Wilson-line fusion in planar N=4 SYM using the Quantum Spectral Curve. We test our results against perturbation theory and semiclassical string theory.

We present a novel framework for deriving integral constraints for correlators on conformal line defects. These constraints emerge from the non-linearly realized ambient-space conformal symmetry. To validate our approach, we examine several examples and compare them against existing data for the four-point function of the displacement operator. Additionally, we provide a few new predictions that extend the current understanding of these correlators.

We study three-dimensional conformal field theories with a large-N limit. Leveraging the framework of slightly broken higher-spin symmetry, we bootstrap correlation functions between the single-trace, local operators and straight, conformal line defects with boundaries. These correlation functions, which depend on a single conformal cross-ratio, encapsulate all bulk-defect operator product expansion coefficients. Concentrating on the quasi-fermionic theory, we explicitly compute all correlators involving the spin-zero and spin-one conserved currents, along with an infinite family of correlators involving the higher-spin currents. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the dependence of these correlators on the defect's shape is fully determined by our bootstrap constraints.

We study a class of renormalization group flows on line defects that can be described by a generalized free field with ordered planar contractions on the line. They are realized, for example, in large $N$ gauge theories with matter in the fundamental representation and arise generically in non-relativistic CFTs. We analyze the flow exactly and compute the change in the $g$-function between the UV and IR fixed points. We relate the result to the change in the two-point function of the displacement operator and check the monotonicity of the defect entropy along the flow analytically. Finally, we give a general realization of this type of flow starting from the direct sum of the IR fixed point and a trivial line. This type of defect renormalization group flow parallels the well-studied case of double-trace flow.

The expectation value of a smooth conformal line defect in a CFT is a conformal invariant functional of its path in space-time. For example, in large N holographic theories, these fundamental observables are dual to the open-string partition function in AdS. In this paper, we develop a bootstrap method for studying them and apply it to conformal line defects in Chern-Simons matter theories. In these cases, the line bootstrap is based on three minimal assumptions — conformal invariance of the line defect, large N factorization, and the spectrum of the two lowest-lying operators at the end of the line. On the basis of these assumptions, we solve the one-dimensional CFT on the line and systematically compute the defect expectation value in an expansion around the straight line. We find that the conformal symmetry of a straight defect is insufficient to fix the answer. Instead, imposing the conformal symmetry of the defect along an arbitrary curved line leads to a functional bootstrap constraint. The solution to this constraint is found to be unique.

We study mesonic line operators in Chern-Simons theories with bosonic or fermionic matter in the fundamental representation. In this paper, we elaborate on the classification and properties of these operators using all loop resummation of large N perturbation theory. We show that these theories possess two conformal line operators in the fundamental representation. One is a stable renormalization group fixed point, while the other is unstable. They satisfy first-order chiral evolution equations, in which a smooth variation of the path is given by a factorized product of two mesonic line operators. The boundary operators on which the lines can end are classified by their conformal dimension and transverse spin, which we compute explicitly at finite ’t Hooft coupling. We match the operators in the bosonic and fermionic theories. Finally, we extend our findings to the mass deformed theories and discover that the duality still holds true.

We argue that for any single-trace operator in 𝒩 = 4 SYM theory there is a large twist double-scaling limit in which the Feynman graphs have an iterative structure. Such structure can be recast using a graph-building operator. Generically, this operator mixes between single trace operators with different scaling limits. The mixing captures both the finite coupling spectrum and corrections away from the large twist limit. We first consider a class of short operators with gluons and fermions for which such mixing problems do not arise, and derive their finite coupling spectra. We then focus on a class of long operators with gluons that do mix. We invert their graph-building operator and prove its integrability. The picture that emerges from this work opens the door to a systematic expansion of 𝒩 = 4 SYM theory around the large twist limit.

We consider the $2\to 2$ scattering amplitude of identical massive particles. We identify the Landau curves in the multi-particle region $16m^2 \leq s, t < 36m^2$. We systematically generate and select the relevant graphs and numerically solve the associated Landau equations for the leading singularity. We find an infinite sequence of Landau curves that accumulates at finite $s$ and $t$ on the physical sheet. We expect that such accumulations are generic for $s,t > 16m^2$. Our analysis sheds new light on the complicated analytic structure of nonperturbative relativistic scattering amplitudes.

We study Chern-Simons theories at large $N$ with either bosonic or fermionic matter in the fundamental representation. The most fundamental operators in these theories are mesonic line operators, the simplest example being Wilson lines ending on fundamentals. We classify the conformal line operators along an arbitrary smooth path as well as the spectrum of conformal dimensions and transverse spins of their boundary operators at finite 't Hooft coupling. These line operators are shown to satisfy first-order chiral evolution equations, in which a smooth variation of the path is given by a factorized product of two line operators. We argue that this equation together with the spectrum of boundary operators are sufficient to uniquely determine the expectation values of these operators. We demonstrate this by bootstrapping the two-point function of the displacement operator on a straight line. We show that the line operators in the theory of bosons and the theory of fermions satisfy the same evolution equation and have the same spectrum of boundary operators.

A bstract Form factors in planar 𝒩 = 4 super-Yang-Mills theory have a dual description in terms of periodic Wilson loops. This duality maps the multi-collinear expansion of the former to an operator product expansion of the latter. The coefficients of this expansion are decomposed in terms of several elementary building blocks and can be determined at finite ’t Hooft coupling using bootstrap and integrability techniques. Some of these building blocks are known from an analogous expansion of scattering amplitudes. In addition to these, the expansion for form factors includes a new type of building block, called form factor transitions , that encode information about the local operator. In the present paper, we consider the form factor of the chiral part of the stress-tensor supermultiplet. We bootstrap the corresponding form factor transitions of two-particle flux-tube states and use them to predict the leading term in the collinear expansion at finite coupling. The transitions we find can be expressed in terms of a quantity that previously appeared in a seemingly unrelated context, namely the octagon kernel. Lastly, we use a factorized ansatz to determine the multi-particle form factor transitions at finite coupling, which we use to predict the first subleading term in the collinear expansion. A perfect match is found between our predictions and the available perturbative data.

Abstract Form factors in planar $$ \mathcal{N} $$ N = 4 Super-Yang-Mills theory admit a type of non-perturbative operator product expansion (OPE), as we have recently shown in [1]. This expansion is based on a decomposition of the dual periodic Wilson loop into elementary building blocks: the known pentagon transitions and a new object that we call form factor transition, which encodes the information about the local operator. In this paper, we compute the two-particle form factor transitions for the chiral part of the stress-tensor supermultiplet at Born level; they yield the leading contribution to the OPE. To achieve this, we explicitly construct the Gubser-Klebanov-Polyakov two-particle singlet states. The resulting transitions are then used to test the OPE against known perturbative data and to make higher-loop predictions.

Published in: Physical Review Letters DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.126.031602 Publication date: 2021 Document version Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Document license: CC BY Citation for published version (APA): Sever, A., Tumanov, A. G., & Wilhelm, M. (2021). An Operator Product Expansion for Form Factors. Physical Review Letters, 123(3), [031302]. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.126.031602

We propose an operator product expansion for planar form factors of local operators in N=4 SYM theory. This expansion is based on the dual conformal symmetry of these objects or, equivalently, the conformal symmetry of their dual description in terms of periodic Wilson loops. A form factor is decomposed into a sequence of known pentagon transitions and a new universal object that we call the "form factor transition." This transition is subject to a set of nontrivial bootstrap constraints, which are sufficient to fully determine it. We evaluate the form factor transition for maximally helicity-violating form factors of the chiral half of the stress tensor supermultiplet at leading order in perturbation theory and use it to produce operator product expansion predictions at any loop order. We match the one-loop and two-loop predictions with data available in the literature.

We consider a dual S-matrix bootstrap approach in d≥3 space-time dimensions which relies solely on the rigorously proven analyticity, crossing, and unitarity properties of the scattering amplitudes. As a proof of principle, we provide rigorous upper and lower numerical bounds on the quartic coupling for the scattering of identical scalar particles in four dimensions.

Abstract We revisit analytical methods for constraining the nonperturbative S-matrix of unitary, relativistic, gapped theories in d ≥ 3 spacetime dimensions. We assume extended analyticity of the two-to-two scattering amplitude and use it together with elastic unitarity to develop two natural expansions of the amplitude. One is the threshold (non-relativistic) expansion and the other is the large spin expansion. The two are related by the Froissart-Gribov inversion formula. When combined with crossing and a local bound on the discontinuity of the amplitude, this allows us to constrain scattering at finite energy and spin in terms of the low-energy parameters measured in the experiment. Finally, we discuss the modern numerical approach to the S-matrix bootstrap and how it can be improved based on the results of our analysis.

We present the first-principles derivation of a weak-strong duality between the fishnet theory in four dimensions and a discretized stringlike model living in five dimensions. At strong coupling, the dual description becomes classical and we demonstrate explicitly the classical integrability of the model. We test our results by reproducing the strong coupling limit of the four-point correlator computed before nonperturbatively from the conformal partial wave expansion. Because of the extreme simplicity of our model, it could provide an ideal playground for holography with no supersymmetry. Furthermore, since the fishnet model and N=4 super Yang-Mills theory are continuously linked, our consideration could shed light on the derivation of AdS/CFT for the latter. For simplicity, in this Letter we restrict our considerations to a large subset of all states.

We consider theories of weakly interacting higher spin particles in flat spacetime. We focus on the four-point scattering amplitude at high energies and imaginary scattering angles. The leading asymptotic of the amplitude in this regime is universal and equal to the corresponding limit of the Veneziano amplitude. In this paper, we find that the first sub-leading correction to this asymptotic is universal as well. We compute the correction using a model of relativistic strings with massive endpoints. We argue that it is unique using holography, effective theory of long strings and bootstrap techniques.

We study the first non-planar correction to gluon scattering amplitudes in \( \mathcal{N}=4 \) SYM theory. The correction takes the form of a double trace partial amplitude and is suppressed by one power of 1/N with respect to the leading single trace contribution. We extend the duality between planar scattering amplitudes and null polygonal Wilson loops to the double trace amplitude. The new duality relates the amplitude to the correlation function of two infinite null polygonal Wilson lines that are subject to a quantum periodicity constraint. We test the duality perturbatively at one-loop order and demonstrate it for the dual string in AdS. The duality allows us to extend the notion of the loop integrand beyond the planar limit and to determine it using recursion relations. It also allows us to apply the integrability-based pentagon operator product expansion approach to the first non-planar order. This was the original motivation for this work and it will be reported on in a separate publication.

We consider weakly coupled theories of massive higher-spin particles. This class of models includes, for instance, tree-level String Theory and Large-N Yang-Mills theory. The S-matrix in such theories is a meromorphic function obeying unitarity and crossing symmetry. We discuss the (unphysical) regime s, t ≫ 1, in which we expect the amplitude to be universal and exponentially large. We develop methods to study this regime and show that the amplitude necessarily coincides with the Veneziano amplitude there. In particular, this implies that the leading Regge trajectory, j(t), is asymptotically linear in Yang-Mills theory. Further, our analysis shows that any such theory of higherspin particles has stringy excitations and infinitely many asymptotically parallel subleading trajectories. More generally, we argue that, under some assumptions, any theory with at least one higher-spin particle must have strings.

Large Gauge Transformations (LGT) are gauge transformations that do not vanish at infinity. Instead, they asymptotically approach arbitrary functions on the conformal sphere at infinity. Recently, it was argued that the LGT should be treated as an infinite set of global symmetries which are spontaneously broken by the vacuum. It was established that in QED, the Ward identities of their induced symmetries are equivalent to the Soft Photon Theorem. In this paper we study the implications of LGT on the S-matrix between physical asymptotic states in massive QED. In appose to the naively free scattering states, physical asymptotic states incorporate the long range electric field between asymptotic charged particles and were already constructed in 1970 by Kulish and Faddeev. We find that the LGT charge is independent of the particles’ momenta and may be associated to the vacuum. The soft theorem’s manifestation as a Ward identity turns out to be an outcome of not working with the physical asymptotic states.