Soft theorems based on differential operators from gravity to Yang-Mills and BAS

TL;DR

This paper investigates the soft limits of Yang-Mills and bi-adjoint scalar amplitudes at tree level using transmutation operators, revealing universal soft factors at leading and sub-leading orders and explaining their limitations.

Contribution

It demonstrates how transmutation operators can derive soft factors from gravity amplitudes and clarifies the scope of universality in soft behavior for YM and BAS theories.

Findings

Reproduces universal soft factors for YM at leading and sub-leading orders.

Identifies the absence of universal soft behavior at sub-sub-leading order for YM.

Establishes a weaker universal soft behavior for BAS at sub-leading order, excluding 4-point cases.

Abstract

This note study the soft behavior of Yang-Mills (YM) and bi-adjoint scalar (BAS) amplitudes at tree level, by using transmutation operators proposed by Cheung, Shen and Wen. By acting such transmutation operators to gravity amplitudes in the soft limit, we reproduce universal soft factors of YM amplitudes at the leading and sub-leading orders, and explain that the analogous universal soft behavior does not exist at the sub-sub-leading order. Subsequently, by acting the same operators on YM amplitudes, we obtain the universal soft factor of BAS amplitudes at the leading order. Furthermore, we find that a "weaker" version of universal soft behavior of BAS amplitudes holds at the sub-leading order, if we exclude the special $4$-point case.