A comparison of efficient methods for the computation of Born gluon amplitudes

We compare four different methods for the numerical computation of the pure gluonic amplitudes in the Born approximation. We are in particular interested in the efficiency of the various methods as the number n of the external particles increases. In addition we investigate the numerical accuracy in critical phase space regions. The methods considered are based on (i) Berends-Giele recurrence relations, (ii) scalar diagrams, (iii) MHV vertices and (iv) BCF recursion relations.Comment: 20 page

Color-dressed recursive relations for multi-parton amplitudes

Remarkable progress inspired by twistors has lead to very simple analytic expressions and to new recursive relations for multi-parton color-ordered amplitudes. We show how such relations can be extended to include color and present the corresponding color-dressed formulation for the Berends-Giele, BCF and a new kind of CSW recursive relations. A detailed comparison of the numerical efficiency of the different approaches to the calculation of multi-parton cross sections is performed.Comment: 31 pages, 4 figures, 6 table

A direct proof of the CSW rules

Using recursion methods similar to those of Britto, Cachazo, Feng and Witten (BCFW) a direct proof of the CSW rules for computing tree-level gluon amplitudes is given.Comment: 11 pages, uses axodraw.st

MHV Techniques for QED Processes

Significant progress has been made in the past year in developing new `MHV' techniques for calculating multiparticle scattering amplitudes in Yang-Mills gauge theories. Most of the work so far has focussed on applications to Quantum Chromodynamics, both at tree and one-loop level. We show how such techniques can also be applied to abelian theories such as QED, by studying the simplest tree-level multiparticle process, e^+e^- to n \gamma. We compare explicit results for up to n=5 photons using both the Cachazo, Svrcek and Witten `MHV rules' and the related Britto-Cachazo-Feng `recursion relation' approaches with those using traditional spinor techniques.Comment: 19 pages, 10 figures. References adde

Non-renormalization of the full <VVA> correlator at two-loop order

By explicit calculation of the two-loop QCD corrections we show that for singlet axial and vector currents the full off-shell correlation function in the limit of massless fermions is proportional to the one-loop result, when calculated in the MS-bar scheme. By the same finite renormalization which is needed to make the one-loop anomaly exact to all orders, we arrive at the conclusion that two-loop corrections are absent altogether, for the complete correlator not only its anomalous part. In accordance with the one-loop nature of the correlator, one possible amplitude, which seems to be missing by accident at the one-loop level, also does not show up at the two-loop level.Comment: 6 pages, 1 figur

Differential equations and high-energy expansion of two--loop diagrams in D dimensions

New method of calculation of master integrals using differential equations and asymptotical expansion is presented. This method leads to the results exact in space-time dimension $D$ having the form of the convergent power series. As an application of this method, we calculate the two--loop master integral for "crossed--triangle" topology which was previously known only up to O(\ep) order. The case when a topology contains several master integrals is also considered. We present an algorithm of the term-by-term calculation of the asymptotical expansion in this case and analyze in detail the "crossed--box" topology with three master integrals.Comment: 13 pages,8 figures, uses elsart.cls. Misprints correcte

Harmonic polylogarithms for massive Bhabha scattering

One- and two-dimensional harmonic polylogarithms, HPLs and GPLs, appear in calculations of multi-loop integrals. We discuss them in the context of analytical solutions for two-loop master integrals in the case of massive Bhabha scattering in QED. For the GPLs we discuss analytical representations, conformal transformations, and also their transformations corresponding to relations between master integrals in the s- and t-channel.Comment: 6 pages, latex, uses espcrc2.sty, contrib. to Proc. of X. Int. Workshop on Advanced Computing and Analysis Techniques in Physics Research (ACAT), May 22 - 27, 2005, DESY, Zeuthen, Germany, to appear in NI

Recursion relations, Helicity Amplitudes and Dimensional Regularization

Using the method of on-shell recursion relations we compute tree level amplitudes including D-dimensional scalars and fermions. These tree level amplitudes are needed for calculations of one-loop amplitudes in QCD involving external quarks and gluons.Comment: 28 pages, 6 figures, clarifications adde

Numerical evaluation of multiple polylogarithms

Multiple polylogarithms appear in analytic calculations of higher order corrections in quantum field theory. In this article we study the numerical evaluation of multiple polylogarithms. We provide algorithms, which allow the evaluation for arbitrary complex arguments and without any restriction on the weight. We have implemented these algorithms with arbitrary precision arithmetic in C++ within the GiNaC framework.Comment: 23 page