Analytic results for planar three-loop four-point integrals from a Knizhnik-Zamolodchikov equation

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new method for solving differential equations of planar three-loop four-point Feynman integrals by transforming them into a Knizhnik-Zamolodchikov type form, enabling algebraic solutions in terms of harmonic polylogarithms.

Contribution

The authors develop a novel basis of master integrals that simplifies differential equations to a KZ form, allowing all-order epsilon solutions for three-loop four-point integrals.

Findings

Explicit basis of pure functions found

Differential equations reduced to KZ form

Epsilon expansion up to weight six provided

Abstract

We apply a recently suggested new strategy to solve differential equations for master integrals for families of Feynman integrals. After a set of master integrals has been found using the integration-by-parts method, the crucial point of this strategy is to introduce a new basis where all master integrals are pure functions of uniform transcendentality. In this paper, we apply this method to all planar three-loop four-point massless on-shell master integrals. We explicitly find such a basis, and show that the differential equations are of the Knizhnik-Zamolodchikov type. We explain how to solve the latter to all orders in the dimensional regularization parameter epsilon, including all boundary constants, in a purely algebraic way. The solution is expressed in terms of harmonic polylogarithms. We explicitly write out the Laurent expansion in epsilon for all master integrals up to weight six.