20.01.2014 (Monday)

Tropical Amplitudes

Regular Seminar Piotr Tourkine (CEA Saclay)

at:
14:00 IC
room B539
abstract:

A systematic understanding of the low energy limit of string theory scattering amplitudes is essential for conceptual and practical reasons. In this talk, I shall report on a recent work where this limit has been analyzed using tropical geometry. Our result is that the field theory amplitudes arising in the low energy limit of string theory are written in a very compact form as integrals over a single object, the tropical moduli space. This picture provides a general framework where the different aspects of the low energy limit of string theory scattering amplitudes are systematically encompassed; the Feynman graphs structure and the ultraviolet regulation mechanism. I shall then give examples of application of the formalism, in particular at genus two, and discuss open issues. No knowledge of tropical geometry will be assumed and the topic shall be introduced during the talk.