On the scattering over the GKP vacuum Academic research paper on "Physical sciences"

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Physics Letters B

www.elsevier.com/locate/physletb

On the scattering over the GKP vacuum

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Davide Fioravantia*, Simone Piscagliaa b, Marco Rossic

a Sezione ¡NFN di Bologna, Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomía, Universita di Bologna, Via Irnerio 46, Bologna, Italy b Centro de Física do Porto and Departamento de Física e Astronomia, Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre 687, Porto, Portugal c Dipartimento di Fisica dell'Universita della Calabria and ¡NFN, Gruppo Collegato di Cosenza, Arcavacata di Rende, Cosenza, Italy

ARTICLE INFO

ABSTRACT

Article history:

Received 2 October 2013

Received in revised form 22 November 2013

Accepted 1 December 2013

Available online 4 December 2013

Editor: L. Alvarez-Gaume

By converting the asymptotic Bethe Ansatz (ABA) of N = 4 SYM into non-linear integral equations, we find 2D scattering amplitudes of excitations on top of the GKP vacuum. We prove that this is a suitable and powerful set-up for the understanding and computation of the whole S-matrix. We show that all the amplitudes depend on the fundamental scalar-scalar one.

© 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

In integrable system and condensed matter theories the study of the scattering of excitations over the antiferromagnetic vacuum is at least as much important as that over the ferromagnetic one (cf. one of the pioneering papers [1] and its references). Often the excitations over the ferromagnetic vacuum are called magnons, as well as those over the antiferromagnetic one kinks or solitons or spinons. Also, two dimensional (lattice) field theories (like, for instance, Sine-Gordon) are often examples with an antiferromagnetic vacuum [2]. If we wish to parallel this reasoning in the framework of the Beisert-Staudacher asymptotic (i.e. large s) Bethe Ansatz (ABA) for N = 4 SYM [3], we are tempted to choose, as antiferromagnetic vacuum, the GKP long (i.e. fast spinning) AdS5 string solution [4]. According to the AdS/CFT correspondence [5], the quantum GKP string state is dual to a single trace twist two operator of N = 4 (at high spin); thus let us consider two complex scalars, Z, at the two ends of a long series of s (light-cone) covari-ant derivatives, D+. Then, excitations of the GKP string correspond to insertions of other operators over this Fermi sea, thus generating higher twist operators. More precisely, operators associated to one-particle p states are built as

O' = Tr ZDs-s' p D+Z + ■■■. (1.1)

The set of lower twist (twist three) excitations includes p = Z, one of the three complex scalars; p = F+x, F+x, the two components

* This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Funded by SCOAP3.

* Corresponding author.

E-mail addresses: fioravanti@bo.infn.it (D. Fioravanti), piscagli@bo.infn.it (S. Piscaglia), rossi@cs.infn.it (M. Rossi).

of the gluon field; p = &+, 4/+, the 4 + 4 fermions, respectively. All these fields are the highest weight of a precise representation of the residual so(6) ~ su(4) symmetry of the GKP vacuum: the scalar of the vector 6, the fermions of the 4 and 4, respectively, and the gluons of the 1 representation. All these features and the exact dispersion relations for these excitations in the different regimes have been studied recently in deep and interesting detail by Basso [6]. Now, as for the scattering, we shall consider at least two particles states (twist-4), namely

a" = Tr ZD+-s1-s2 p1 D+ p2 D+ Z + ■■■. (1.2)

This situation was already analysed in partial generality in the case when both the excitations are identical p1 = p2 = Z [7]. Importantly, an impressive recent paper [8] proposed a non-perturbative approach to 4D scattering amplitudes in N = 4 SYM by using as building blocks the 2D scattering amplitudes we wish to compute here: we will see some non-trivial checks of their conjectures.

Computing the scattering matrix has a long history (see, for instance, [9] and references therein). From this wide literature we can argue that an efficient method of computation rests on the non-linear integral equation (for excited states) [10]. In fact, the same idea of counting function gives a quantisation condition which can be interpreted as (asymptotic) Bethe Ansatz, defining the scattering matrix (elements). In this note we will use this strategy to provide general formuls for the scattering amplitudes between the aforementioned excitations. This should give the nontrivial part (in front) of the scattering matrices, the so-called scalar factor, being the matrix structure fixed by the aforementioned residual symmetry representations. Remarkably, all the scattering phases (eigenvalues) are expressible in terms of the scalar-scalar one. Moreover, we evaluate one loop and strong coupling limits of (scalar-scalar and) gluon-gluon scattering amplitudes and find confirmation of the conjecture of [8].

0370-2693/$ - see front matter © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.Org/10.1016/j.physletb.2013.12.003

2. Scalar excitations

A sl(2) state of L (= twist) scalars and s (= spin) derivatives is described by the counting function

2x+(u)2

0o(u — v ) = 2arctan(u — v ),

0H(u, v) = —2i

2x+(u)x—(v) g2

2x—(u)x+(v)

+ id(u, V)

0(u, v) being the dressing phase [11] and x(u) = 2[1 + 1 — Ür ], x±(u) = x(u ± 2).

One loop or learning the art. Let us start by reviewing the one loop formulation, in order to outline the main steps of our procedure and to enucleate several conceptual features that will be encountered again at all-loops. In the one loop case, the counting function for the twist sector is Z0(u) = &0(u) — 0o(u, uk). We remark that by its definition Z0(u) is a monotonously decreasing function. L holes, in positions Xh, h = 1,...,L are present. Two of them, in positions x1, xL are external to Bethe roots (i.e. x1 < uk < xL); internal or 'small' holes occupy positions we denote with x2,...,xL—1. At one-loop, the counting function satisfies the non-linear integral equation [12]

L r^h^ * r(1 + iu — ixh ) Z0 (u) = - ln—2--+ i> ln-

) i r( 1 — iu) = r(1 — iu + ixh )

J + iu — iv) + ^(1 — iu + iv)]Lo(v), (2.4)

where L0(u) = Imln[1 + (—1)LeiZ°(u—i0+)]. We want to study excitations on top of the GKP string. The GKP string is dual to the large spin limit of the twist two operator with only the two external holes, corresponding to the two Z scalars. Then, excitations arise when L > 2 and are described by the L — 2 internal holes, corresponding to insertions of L — 2 fields Z. In the high spin limit and within accuracy O ((lns)0), Eq. (2.4) linearises, because of the expansion df [^(1 + iu — iv) + ^(1 — iu + iv)]L0(v) = —2uln2 + O(1) [12], and we can extract scattering data in the following way. By definition of counting function

(—1)1—L = e—iZ0(Xh) = eiRP0(Xh) [] (—S0(xh, xh,))

{h'=2, h'=h}

iRPo(Xh )

n S o(Xh, Xh ) = 1,

{h'=2, h'=h}

for h = 2,..., L — 1, where the last equalities represent the Bethe quantisation conditions: R is given the interpretation of the effective length of the closed chain and P0(xh) that of the momentum of the h-th excitation, so that RP0(Xh) represents the 'free propagation' phase of this excitation around the chain (the minus sign in front of iZ0(Xh) is due to our definition of Z0(u) as a decreasing function). On the contrary, S0(Xh, xh) allows for the interaction and

is given the interpretation of phase change due to the scattering between the h-th and the h'-th excitation. To ensure unitarity and proper asymptotic behaviour to the scattering, we add and subtract one term in (2.4):

Z(u) = L&(u) -J2uk), (2.1) z0(u) =

where &(u) = &o(u) + (u), $(u, v) = $0(u — v) + (u, v), with

( 1 + \

@0(u) = — 2arctan2u, (u) = —i lnl-2x 2u) ), (2.2)

—i(L — 2) ln

T( i + iu)

+ i ln

F( 2 + ixh ) r( 2 — ixh )

+ i ln

r(1 + iu — ixh ) r(1 — iu + ixh )

' T(2 + iu) T(2 + ixh)

— 2i ln-2--O ln-2-

r( 2 — iu) h=2 r( 2 — ixh)

T(1 + iu — íxl )r(1 + iu — ix\ )

+ i ln--2u ln2

r(1 — iu + ixL )T(1 — iu + ix\ )

In the large spin limit we have [13] xL = —x1 = + O (s0), Xh ■

j-^s, 2 < h < L — 1 [14]. Therefore, the second bracket in (2.6)

(ln s)

■). When no internal

reduces to —4u lns — 2i ln 1+ltl) + O ( 1(2 iu)

hole is present at all, the first bracket in (2.6) is absent and we identify the effective length of the string and the excitation momentum as R = 2lns and P0(Xh) = 2xh, respectively. On the other hand, to find the scattering matrix involving two scalar excitations, it is convenient to stick to the L = 4 case (two internal holes). Now, the extra phase shift, due to the first bracket in (2.6) is interpreted, via (2.5), as the scattering factor

So(xh, xh') = —

r( 2 — ixh )r( 2 + ixh' )r(1 + ixh — ixh' ) r( 1 + ixh)r(2 — ixh')r(1 — ixh + ixh'),

between two internal holes with rapidities xh and xh'. This expression enjoys unitarity and does agree with result (3.8) of Basso-Belitsky [15], but seems to be the inverse of (2.13) in [16].

All loops. Using results contained in Section 2 of [17], we write for the counting function the following non-linear integral equation

Z (u) = F (u) + 2 j dv G(u, v)L(v ),

where the functions F (u) and G(u, v) are obtained after solving the linear integral equations

F (u) = f (u) —I dv V(u, v) F (v),

G (u, v) = ç(u, v) — j dw ç(u, w)G (w, v),

f (u) = L0(u) + Y_] 4(u, xh ), h=1

V(u, v) = d$(u, v). 2n dv

(2.1o)

Eqs. (2.10) and (2.9) entail the sum F (u) = LP (u) + J2h=i R(u, xh) of the two functions R(u, v), such that dv^ (u, v) = G(u, v), and P (u), solutions respectively of the two linear equations

R(u, v) = j(u, v) — I dw <p(u, w)R(w, v)

P(u) = $(u) — j dw p(u, w)P(w).

(2.11)

Now, we consider the high spin limit, work out the non-linear term and — following what we did in the one loop case — identify the momentum of a hole and the scattering phase between two holes. In fact, the non-linear term NL(u) = 2 f dv G(u, v)L(v) depends on the function G(u, v). By manipulating the second of (2.9) in Fourier space and using formula (3.2) of [7], we arrive at this (approximated) integral equation NL(k) = — 4ni¡ 2S(k) —

T^hi dnpH(k, P)NL(—p) + O (1/s2), which proves that NL(u) start contributing at order O (s0). Again, as in the one loop case, we use the quantisation conditions

(—1)1—L = exp (—iZ(xh}) = eiRP(Xh) n (—SX, x*>))

{h'=2, h'=h}

(2.12)

to define the momentum of a hole/scalar excitation of rapidity u as the function P (u) such that

—2P (u) — R (u, xL) — R (u, x\) — J2 P (xh) — NL(u) ~ R ■ P (u),

(2.13)

with R ~ 2lns (since xL = -x1 ~ the effective length of the chain. On the other hand, the scattering factor between two holes of rapidities u, v is the function S(u, v) defined by

i ln(-S(u, v)) = R(u, v) + P(u) - P(v) = 0(u, v). (2.14)

We remark that the following properties hold

P(u) = -P(-u), R(u, v) = -R(-u,-v),

R(u, v) = -R(v, u). (2.15)

In particular, the last property implies unitarity, i.e. 0(u, v) = -0(v, u). To compute this phase, we need first its 'reduced' version 0'(u, v) = R(u, v) + P(u), which satisfies, in (double) Fourier space,

&'(k, t) = (j)(k, t) + $ (k)2nS(t) —

ipj(k, p)&'(—p, t),

(2.16)

upon manipulating and adding Eqs. (2.11). In fact, this function enters the even part (in the second variable) of the scattering phase M(u, v) = ®(u,v)+®(u'-v) = e'M+e'«,,-^, whose (double) Fourier transform, by virtue of (2.16), satisfies the equation

MA (k, t) =

(jh (k, t) + (jh (k, —t) J0gk)

— 2n 2S(t)~

2(1 — e—\k\)

ik sinh k

ik 1 — e—k dp ipjjh (k, p)

4n2 1- e—k

[S(k +1) + S(k — t)]

MM(—p, t).

(2.17)

We observe that MM(k, t) enjoys the parity properties

MM (k, t) = M (k, —t), M (k, t) = —MM (—k, t );

(2.18)

the first property is true by construction, the second one holds since the function <f>H (k, t) + <f>H (k, -t) is an odd function of k. Now, the key point is that we can relate MM(k, t) to functions we found in the study of high spin twist sector. Let us consider the density corresponding to the first generalised scaling function (i.e. the part of the density proportional to lns^^, see [18] for details1):

à (1)(k) = --E [e—~ — J o ^V2gk)]

sinh J2

1 — e

— Ikl

4^ (jh (k, t)[2n + à) (1)(t)]. (2.19)

Then, consider the density 'all internal holes', which satisfies Eq. (3.8) of [7]: we formally put L = 3 and highlight the dependence of the solution of (3.8) of [7] on the position x of the (fictitious) single internal hole

à (k; x) =

— \k\

1 — e—\k\

(cos kx — 1)

1 — e—\k\

J 4n2 (H (k, t)[2n(cos tx — 1) + à (t; x)]

(2.20)

Fourier transforming with respect to x, it is easy to see that

ikM(k, t) = dxe—itx[à(1)(k) + à (k; x)]

^ —M(u, v) = àm(u) + à(u; v). du

(2.21)

In order to fix M from (2.21), we use properties (2.18): we obtain that M (u, v) = Z (1)(u) + Z (u; v), where Z (1)(u) and Z (u; v ) are univocally defined by the conditions

Z (1)(u) = à(1) (u)

à(1)(

Z (u; v ) = à(u; v),

Z (1)(u) = —Z [1'(—u), Z (u; v ) = —Z (—u; v ).

(2.22)

Now, we easily analyse the odd part of the scattering phase N(u, v) = ®(u,v)-®(u'-v) = R(u,v)-2R(u,-v) _ p(v), for which properties (2.15) bring about M(v, u) = _N(u, v). As a consequence, the scattering phase &(u, v) can be expressed in terms of only the function M as

0(u, v ) = M (u, v ) — M(v, u).

(2.23)

Two strong coupling limits. Using (2.21), (2.23), we want to study the strong coupling limit of the holes scattering phase. We analyse two limits: the so-called non-perturbative regime [19], in which g ^ with u, v ~ 1 fixed and the scaling cases, when we first rescale the rapidities, u = \/2g\i, v = \/2gvi, and then send g ^ +<, with u, v fixed. In the latter case, two regimes appear:

1 In previous literature integral equations are often written by using the 'magic kernel' K [11], related to <j>H by

4>H(k, t) + <H(k, -t) = 8in2g2e- K —.gk, V2gt), t, k > 0.

2n2 e—\k

if |ü| < 1, |v| < 1, we are in the perturbative regime, if |ü| > 1, |v| > 1, we are in the giant-hole [20] regime.

In the non-perturbative regime we use results (3.21), (3.22) of [7], i.e.:

à(1) (k) + à(k; x) — à™(k) coskx,

à iïk) = 2n

— \k\

2sinh k cosh k.

(2.24)

Going back to the coordinate space, we have

g — +<^ * dLMu v) — 2— v) + + v^

à^U) = -4

u\ i u\ /1 u

H1 - i4) + n 1 + i4) — n 2 - i4

- H ^ + ^ +

2 ' '4 J ' cosh §u

i i ( u — v\ /1 u — v

* M(u, v) = — 2 ln r 1 — «—M, + ^

, u + v\ /1 u + v x r 1 — i^— r - + i

4 M 2 4

/(r( 1 + r( 2

2 — i~T

u + v\ /1 u + v

X rl 1+r1—iulT

1 / n(u — v U 1 / n(u + v) — 2gl 2 ) — 2gl 2

(2.25)

Therefore, for the scattering phase 0(u, v) we have the expression [21]

g — +œ * &(u, v) —> —i ln

— gd

r(1 — iu-v )r ( 1 + iu——v ) r(1 + i)r( 1 — )

4M V2 ' 4

n(u — v )N

(2.26)

which depends only on the difference of the rapidities.

We now rescale the rapidity u = \f2gii and then send g ^ with u fixed. It is easier to compute the double derivative of the scattering factor 0(u, v), since it depends on the density a(u; v) only:

d d d d

— — &(u, v) = — à (u; v) — — à(v; u). du dv dv du

(2.27)

On the other hand, the function jo(u; x) is written (at the leading order g0) as

dxà(u;x) = J 72g 0

cos t u

-T^r—t x) — — r+(t; x) dx dx

2e ^g - -_' -—t sin tx

1 — e -^g

(2.28)

where the functions djx F(f; x) satisfy the integral equation, valid for |u | < 1:

eitu — r—(t; x) — e~ dxt

'-¡=r+(tt; x)

/,- itu t sin tx n x

dteitu—-— ^ 242^

sinh —t=-

(2.29)

We set r+(t; x) = f dk cosktr(k; x), r— (t; x) = —jdk sinktr(k; x) and solve (2.29):

d r (k; x) = —V2g[S(k — x) — S(k + x)] + O (1/g ), |x| < 1,

d r (k; x) = — *

( 1+k )1/4(x+1 )1/4 ( 1+k )1/4( xt+1 )1/4

xt — k

+ O (1/g), Ikl < 1, > 1

xt + k

(2.30)

(2.31)

while for |x|, |k| > 1, F(k; x) is exponentially small. Plugging (2.30), (2.31) into (2.28), we find the following behaviour at the leading order g0:

d a(V2gu; V2gx)

= —1H (u2 — 1)H (x2 — 1)

r (x—1 )!/4(u—1 ^14 + (x+1 \1/4(u+1 \1/4 ( x+1 > ( u+1' + ( x—1' ( u—1'

(^ )1/4( m )1/4+(^ )1/4( ^ )1/4'

(2.32)

with H(x) the Heaviside function. Inserting (2.32) into (2.27), we obtain the leading order

&(42gv, V2gw)

= 42 gH(v2 — 1) H(w2 — 1)

(v+1 )1/4(w—1 )1/4 I (v—1 )1/4(w+1 )1/4 (v—1) (w+1) + (v+1) ( w—1)

v — w

(2.33)

Result (2.33) agrees with corresponding formula coming from the scattering phase (2.34) of [16].

3. Gluonic excitations

The excitations of gauge fields on GKP string correspond to insertions of partons of the type Dl-1 F+± or Dl-1 F+±. As for the ABA, the field D— F+± is represented as a stack of l + 1 roots u3, l, u2 and l — 1, u1 roots [6] of the Beisert-Staudacher equations [3] (similarly, Dl—1 F+± comes out from the replacement (u1, u2, u3) ^ (u7, u6, u5)). Then, these large s equations (an operator with some fields Dl—'1 F+± on a sea of covariant derivatives D + ( u 4 roots)) can take on the form

1 = e—ipkLJl S(44)(uk, uj )Hn Sm4g)(uk, uD, (3.1)

1 ^ n S^iuk, um rn srVk, uj )

m i=1 j=1

where S(44)(uk, uj) describes the scattering involving two type-4 Bethe roots, while Smg)(uk, uf) that of a type-4 root colliding

with a gluonic stack (of length m and real centre umi ) and finally Si(gg)(uk, um) represents the matrix for the scattering of gluonic bound states, in terms of real centres. We are going to take into account a system composed of Q gluonic bound states, represented by stacks of length mk and real centre uk, with k = 1,..., Q, together with L - 2 scalars, i.e. internal holes in the distribution of main roots: the length L' appearing in (3.1) equals L + Q. As a matter of fact, in order to accommodate a gluonic excitation, a type-4 root has to be 'pulled away' from the sea, and a gluon substitute it, then. The state we are thus considering is characterised by L + Q missing main roots in the sea, the vacuum corresponding to L = 2, Q = 0.

The counting function for a gluonic stack, with real centre u and length l, which collides only with scalars and other gluonic excitations (centre rapidity uk, length mk) is

Zg(u\l) = X (u, uk\l, mk)

- j dnX(v, u\l)dV[Z(Qg)(v) - 2L(QgHv)]

-J2 X(xh, u\l),

whereas the counting function (2.1) adapted to the case at hand, including the Q gluonic stacks, takes on the form:

Z (Qg)(v) = (L + Q )0(v)

+ j ^<(v, w)dW[Z(Qg)(w) - 2L(Qg)(w)]

—œ L

+ J2&(v, Xh) + Y1 X(v, u k \mk). h=1 k=1 In addition to definitions (2.2), (2.3), we introduced

X(v, u\l) = X0(v - u\l + 1) + Xh(v, u - + Xh(v, u + 2

XX (u, v\l, m) = X0(u - v\l + m) - X0(u - v\l - m) l-1

+ 2^ X0(u - v\l + m - 2y), (3.6)

where we split the function x into its one-loop and higher than one loop parts, respectively

2u il+ 2u • Xo(u\l) = 2arctan—- = i ln—

l il - 2u

Xh (u, v) = i ln

1 -1 -

2x-(u)x(v) g2

2x+ (u)x(v)

Eq. (3.4) suggests that Z(Q8)(v) satisfies the non-linear integral equation

Z(Qg)(v) = F(Qg)(v) + 2 j dwG(v, w)L(Qg)(w), (3.8)

where the function F(Qg)(v) is written as

F(Qg)(v) = (L + Q ) P (v) + J2 R (v, Xh) + J2 T (v, uk \mk), (3.9) h=1 k=1

with R(v, u) and P(v) solutions of (2.11) respectively, and T(v, u\m) equals

T (v, u\m) = x(v, u\m) - I dwG(v, w)x(w, ü\m). (3.10)

We are interested in the scattering factors involving gluons, which correspond to l = 1 stacks. Therefore, we restrict to this case and, for clarity's sake, denote the scalar-scalar factor as S (ss)(xh, Xh>) = - exp[-i0(Xh, Xh')]. The quantisation conditions for holes and glu-ons are

• (_1)L-1 = e-iZ(Qg)(Xh)

L-1 ( ) Q

= eiRP(Xh) H (-S(ss)(xh, xh'))H S(sg)(Xh, uj), h'=2, h'=h j=1

(3.11)

• ^^Q-1 = e-iZg ("k 1

= eiRPg (u k) ^ (-s (gg)(u k, u j)) j=1,j=k

xf! S (gs)(u k, Xh'). (3.12)

In order to gain S(gg) we consider (3.3) when the system is composed just of two gluons (Q = 2 and l = 1) with rapidities u 1 and u2 and no internal holes are present (L = 2):

Zg(u\1) = -4 j X(v, u\1)dvp(v)

dv dL(2g) n dv

(v)T(v, u\1) T(Xh, u\1) h=1

X (u, uk\1,1)

I ^x(v, u\1)dT(v, uk\1)

(3.13)

Via quantisation condition (3.12), from (3.13) we can identify the momentum P (g)(u) of a gluon with rapidity u

T (xi, u\1) + T (xL, u\1) -

L-1 +œ

-1:P (x* )+ifè

dv dL(Qg) v

(v)T(v, u\1)

x(v, u\1) — P(v) dv

id d + ^ J dnX(v, ^dv ~P(v) - R ' P(g)(u), (3n4)

with effective length R — 2lns and the scattering phase between gluons with rapidities u and u:

i ln( — S (gg)(u, u))

= x (u, u\1,1) — / —x(v, u\1)j- T (v, u|1)

dv d dv d

J 2nx(v,ul1)TvP(v) +J 2nx(v,u|1)dvP(v)

= X (u, u\1,1)

— j 2n^, u\1) + ®(v)]dv , u\1) + &(v)]

Finally, we consider scattering between F+x, with rapidity u 1, and F+x, with rapidity u 1. We stick to L = 2 and consider Zg, counting function of F+x and Z(gg), counting function of scalars in the presence of F+x and F+x:

Zg(u|1) = x (u, u 1|1,1)

— f 2dnX(v, u|1)d[Z(gg)(v) — 2L(gg)(v)]

—œ 2

— J2 X(Xh, u\1), h=1

(3.20)

|-œ +œ

/dv í dw r ]

-U(v,u\1) + *(v)]

d d dv dw

&(v, w)

—œ —œ

x [x(w, u\1) + $(w)],

(3.15)

where 0 (2.23) enters the hole-hole scattering phase. This expression at one loop reduces to

(gg) - r(1 + i(u — u)) F(2 — iu)F(2 + iu)

Sg (u, u) =-----—I--, (3.16)

( , ) F(1 — i(u — u)) F(2 + iu) F(§ — iu), ' '

which agrees with relations (7) and (11) of [8]. Moreover, the glu-onic counting function (3.3) allows us to retrieve the scattering matrix between a gluon (l = 1 and rapidity u) and a scalar excitation (internal hole with rapidity xh), once properly rewritten after fixing Q = 1 and L = 3:

zg(un) = —4J

—œ œ

dv dL(1g) n dv

X(v, u\1)dP(v) dv

(v)T(v, u\1) — ¿ T(Xh, u\1)

x (u, u\1,1) —J X (v, u\1) d^T (v, u\1)

(3.17)

Therefore, the gluon-scalar scattering phase reads

i ln(S(gs)(u, xh))

= —X(Xh, u\1) — $(Xh)

&(Xh, w )

(X(w, u\1) + &(w))

— &(Xh, w) — 2nS(Xh — w) dw

(X(w, u\1) + $(w))

= —i ln(S(sg)(xh, u)); at one loop, it becomes

T(1 + i(u — Xh ))T( 1 + iXh)T( 2 — iîi )

S (gs)(u, Xh ) =

r(1 — i(u — Xh)) r(2 — iXh) F(2 + iu) = [S(sg)(Xh, u)]—1.

(3.19)

Z(gg) (v) = 4P (v) + J2 R (v, Xh) h=1

+ T (v, u 1 \1 ) + T (v, u 1 \1 ) + NL(v ).

(3.21)

Plugging (3.21) into (3.20), computing Zg in u = ü 1 and neglecting non-linear terms, we obtain

Zg (u 1 \ 1) = —

X(v, u 1 \ 1 )

4d~P(v) + dT(v, u 1 \1)

— T (X1, u 1 \ 1 ) — T (XL, u 1 \ 1 ).

(3.22)

The quantisation condition reads 1 = e 'Zg(u 1|1) = e'Rp(g)(u 1) x S(gg)(u 1, u 1), from which, using (3.14), (3.15) we obtain

i ln S(gg g)(u 1, u 1 ) = i ln(—S (gg)(u 1, u 1)) — x(u 1, u 1\1,1)

^ s (gg)(u 1, u 1) = s (gg)(u 1, u 1)

~ Il 1 — II1 — i

Il 1 — u 1 + i

(3.23)

Analogously, considering the counting function of F+x together with Z(gg), we find S(gg)(u 1, u 1) = [S(gg)(u 1, u 1)]—1. Eventually, we also obtain S(gs)(u, v) = S(gs)(u, v).

Perturbative strong coupling gluon-gluon scattering. We want to study the gluonic scattering matrix (3.15) in the limit g ^ +<^, with u = uy2g, H = uy2g, u, u fixed and u2 < 1, u < 1. We have

i ln(—S(gg)(u, u)) = I +12 +13, (3.24)

X\ = x (u, u |1, 1) = — 2arctan V2g(ii — u)

V2 . , 3)

= — n sgn(ù — u) + ——— + O (1/g3),

I2 = —2arctan

+ 4arctan

g(u — u ) g(u — u ) V2

~2\f2g(u — u ) 3

— 2arctan[ g(u — u )V2 ]

= O (1/g3).

(3.25)

(3.26)

For what concerns the last term I3 in the right hand side of (3.15), we find convenient to perform the change of variables v = \/2gv, w = V2gw

(3.18)

dv C dw

2n 42gv — 42gz*J2gw — V2gu dv dw

x &(\Í2gv ,\Í2gw).

(3.27)

Plugging formula (2.33) into (3.27) and performing the integrations we arrive at

2V2g( u- u)

1 - u 1 + u

_ 1 - 1 1 + u\4 /1 - u\ 4

+ 0 (1/g2

(3.28)

Now, summing up (3.25), (3.26), (3.28) we obtain the final result for the gluon-gluon scattering matrix at the order 0 (1/g)

S (gg)(u, u) = exp

_42g(u - u)

1 - 1 1/1 + u\4 /1 - u \4 1 + ~

1 + it

1/1 - u\V1 + u\4 ( •

+ (—-1 + o (1/g-

(3.29)

2\1 + u/ M - u,

which agrees with the result coming from (7), (15) and (16) of [8]. 4. Fermionic excitations

To parametrise the dynamics of a fermionic excitation, the rapidity to look at is actually x, which is related to the Bethe rapidity u via the Zhukovski map u(x) = x + 2x• To properly invert the Zhukovski map for the complete range of values of x, we need to glue two u-planes together, each corresponding to a Riemann sheet. The two sheets are related to two distinct regimes of the fermionic excitations [6]: large fermions, embedded in Beisert-Staudacher equations [3] as u3 roots, which do carry energy and momentum even at one-loop; small fermions, corresponding to u1 roots, which couple to main root equations just at higher loops. The function x(u) can be analytically continued from the u3 Riemann sheet to the u1-sheet by means of the map x(u3) ^ (g2)/(2x(u1)), and Beisert-Staudacher equations are invariant under this exchange u3 ■ u1, provided we modify the spin-chain length (see [3] for details). Exactly the same reasoning applies for anti-fermions by replacing u3 ^ u5 and u1 ^ u7: turning on u3 (u1) roots means exciting fermionic fields , while u5 (u7) corresponds to <P+. Hence, we can extend (3.1), (3.2) to include NF large fermions uF = u3, of physical rapidities xFj = x(uF) with the

arithmetic square root for x(u) = (u/2)[1 + ^ 1 - (2g2)/u2 ], and nf small fermions uf = u1, of rapidities xf = (g2)/(2x(uf)):

1 = e-iPkL Y] S(44) (uk, uj) ["J S(4F)(uk, u j=k j=1

xf] S(4 f \ uk, u^Yi rK4g)( uk, um j=1 m j=1

1 =n s (f 4h uF, uonn smFg)( uF, um),

j=1 m j=1

1=n s (f x, uj )n n smf8)(ui, um),

j=1 m j=1

1=n n smg)(ulk, um m s(g4)(ulk, uj) m i=1 j=1 Nf nf

^ sn, uF)HS(gf)(uk, uf), j=1 j=1

where L = L + NF + Q and, in addition to previously defined matrices, we introduce the scattering matrices describing the collision between a type-4 root and a large fermion S(4F)(uk, uF)

or small fermion S(4f)(uk, uf) together with their inverses (respectively S(F4)(uF, uj), S(f4)(ufk , uj)); the matrices s(gF)(ulk, uF),

SmFg)(uFk , um) (or S,(g)(u'k, uf) and Smfg\ufk , um)) describe the scattering involving gluonic stacks and large (small) fermions. Explicitly, these scattering matrices over the GKP vacuum are listed here (the definition xF(v, u) = X0(v - u\ 1) + XH(v, u) is used):

• large (anti)fermion-large (anti)fermion: S(FF)(u, u') = S(FF)(u, u') = S(FF)(u, u') = S(FF)(u, u'),

i log S(FF)(u, u')

/dv dw [ ] d

-dw X (v,u) + *(v %

x ^2nS(v - w) - d— (v, w[xf(w, u') + @(w)],

S(Ff)(u, u') =

large (anti)fermion-small (anti)fermion:

S(Ff)(u, u') = S(Ff)(u, u') = S(Ff)(u, u'),

i log S (Ff)(u, u j dv dw

2n 2^XF(v,u) + *(v)lTv

x \ 2nS(v - w) - , w) )XH(w, u'), dw

scalar-large (anti)fermion: S(sF)(u, u') = S(sF)(u, u'), i log S (sF)(u, u,)

d& ~dv

(u, v) - 2nS(u - v)

(xf{v , u') + $(v)), (4.7)

gluonic stack-large (anti)fermion: S(gF)(u, u') = S(gF)(u, u'),

S(gF)(u, u') = S(sr)(u, u')

i log - S

= X0(u - u'\0 + ¿logS(gF)(u, u') = X0(u - u'\l) - f [x (v, u\l) + &(v)] d&

x |^2n5(v - w) - d— (v, w)j[xF(w, u') + $(w)\.

We checked that unitarity holds, i.e. that S(sF)(u, u') = [S(Fs)(u', u)]-1, S(gF)(u, u') = [S(Fg)(u', u)]-1 and so on. By virtue of the map between small and large (anti)fermions, from the expressions above we recover the corresponding ones for small (anti)fermions by replacing xF (v, u) + $(v) ^ -XH(v, u). Eventually, we note that all these scattering phases depend only on the 'basic' scalar-scalar one, except known functions.

Note Added

When completing to write this work, [22] on scalars appeared (one day in advance). In fact, [22] focuses on scalars giving for them the complete S-matrix (namely the g dependent scalar-scalar (pre)factor, which is also presented in this Letter, times a matrix fixed by the 0 (6) symmetry, as in the 0 (6) NLSM). In this Letter we derive all the (pre)factors concerning the other fields, i.e. gluons and fermions.

Acknowledgements

We enjoyed discussions with B. Basso, D. Bombardelli, N. Dorey and P. Zhao. This project was partially supported by INFN grants IS FI11 and PI14, the Italian MIUR-PRIN contract 2009KHZKRX-007, the ESF Network 09-RNP-092 (PESC) and the MPNS-COST Action MP1210.

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