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arXiv:2512.05017

The Magnus expansion in relativistic quantum field theory

Andreas Brandhuber, Graham R. Brown, Paolo Pichini, Gabriele Travaglini, Pablo Vives Matasan

hep-thquant-phSubmitted Dec 4, 2025• Announced Dec 5, 2025
v1 · Dec 4, 2025v2 · Oct 5, 2026
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Abstract

We investigate the Magnus expansion of the $N$-operator in relativistic quantum field theory, which is related to the $S$-matrix via $S = e^{iN}$. We develop direct methods to compute matrix elements of the $N$-operator, which we refer to as Magnus amplitudes, bypassing scattering amplitudes entirely. At tree level, Magnus amplitudes are expressed in terms of retarded and advanced propagators, with each diagram weighted by factors that we identify as Murua coefficients. At loop level this structure is augmented by the Hadamard cut function, and we establish remarkable relations between loop- and tree-level Magnus amplitudes. Among these, we find that $n$-point one-loop Magnus amplitudes are entirely determined by phase-space integrals of forward limits of $(n{+}2)$-point tree-level amplitudes, and hence related to Murua coefficients, and we generalise this to a class of higher-loop contributions. Furthermore, in the case of heavy particles interacting via massless mediators, we conjecture that Magnus diagrams that contribute to the classical limit are always given by forward limits of trees, and we show this explicitly in a one-loop example. We derive these results studying theories of scalar fields with cubic interactions, but our methods are applicable to general theories as well as to integral functions appearing in gravitational-wave computations. Given that Magnus amplitudes are free of hyper-classical terms, and the known relations between Magnus amplitudes and the radial action, our results lay the groundwork for systematic and efficient calculations of classical observables from quantum field theory.

Journal reference
JHEP 07 (2026) 151
DOI
10.1007/JHEP07(2026)151
Comments
74 pages

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We show that the matrix elements of integrable models computed by the Algebraic Bethe Ansatz can be put in direct correspondence with the Form Factors of integrable relativistic field theories. This happens when the S-matrix of a Bethe Ansatz model can be regarded as a suitable non-relativistic limit of the S-matrix of a field theory, and when there is a well-defined mapping between the Hilbert spaces and operators of the two theories. This correspondence provides an efficient method to compute matrix elements of Bethe Ansatz integrable models, overpassing the technical difficulties of their direct determination. We analyze this correspondence for the simplest example in which it occurs, i.e. the Quantum Non-Linear Schrodinger and the Sinh-Gordon models.
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