Gauge Theory Amplitudes from Cubic Scalar Feynman diagrams

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that gauge theory amplitudes can be derived from scalar Feynman diagrams through a connection with string field theory, revealing a new perspective on the structure of quantum gauge theories.

Contribution

It shows that gauge theory amplitudes naturally emerge from Witten's open string field theory in the field theory limit, linking string theory and gauge theory computations.

Findings

Gauge theory amplitudes can be constructed from scalar Feynman diagrams.

The connection between string field theory and gauge amplitudes is established.

This approach simplifies the understanding of gauge theory perturbation expansions.

Abstract

Feynman diagrams are the foremost tool in the perturbative study of quantum field theory. In gauge theories, the full potential of this tool is revealed when it is combined with the Slavanov-Taylor identities associated with the local gauge symmetry. Hence, it is desirable to have perturbative expansion of scattering amplitudes that combine the graphical nature of Feynman diagram expansion and the reations among various diagrams due to the Slavanov-Taylor identities. In a remarkable paper, motivated by the similarity between graph homology and the gauge theory BRST homology, Kreimer, Sars and van Suijlekom found such an expansion. The implication of this expansion is that the amplitudes in a generic non-abelian gauge theory can be constructed by transmuting the renormalised integrands of trivalent Feynman diagrams in a scalar quantum field theory. In this paper, we show that this surprising connection naturally emerges from Witten's open string field theory in the field theory limit.