The Two-Loop Hexagon Wilson Loop in N = 4 SYM

TL;DR

This paper presents the first analytic computation of the two-loop six-edged Wilson loop in N=4 SYM, revealing the explicit form of the remainder function in terms of Goncharov polylogarithms and analyzing its asymptotic behavior.

Contribution

It provides the first analytic calculation of the two-loop six-edged Wilson loop and the explicit form of the remainder function in terms of Goncharov polylogarithms.

Findings

The two-loop six-edged Wilson loop is computed analytically.

The remainder function is expressed as a weight four Goncharov polylogarithm.

Asymptotic values and special cases of the remainder function are analyzed.

Abstract

In the planar N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory, the conformal symmetry constrains multi-loop n-edged Wilson loops to be given in terms of the one-loop n-edged Wilson loop, augmented, for n greater than 6, by a function of conformally invariant cross ratios. That function is termed the remainder function. In a recent paper, we have displayed the first analytic computation of the two-loop six-edged Wilson loop, and thus of the corresponding remainder function. Although the calculation was performed in the quasi-multi-Regge kinematics of a pair along the ladder, the Regge exactness of the six-edged Wilson loop in those kinematics entails that the result is the same as in general kinematics. We show in detail how the most difficult of the integrals is computed, which contribute to the six-edged Wilson loop. Finally, the remainder function is given as a function of uniform transcendental weight four in terms of Goncharov polylogarithms. We consider also some asymptotic values of the remainder function, and the value when all the cross ratios are equal.