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Universality of colored scalars from the stringy Kawai-Lewellen-Tye kernel

Christoph Bartsch1, Karol Kampf1,2, Jiří Novotný1, and Jaroslav Trnka3

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Phys. Rev. D 112, 085002 – Published 6 October, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/3kgj-8mzm

Abstract

A new perspective on the inverse string theory Kawai-Lewellen-Tye (KLT) kernel is provided which establishes the universality of scattering amplitudes in the biadjoint scalar theory, pions in the nonlinear sigma model (NLSM), and mixed amplitudes (NLSM+ϕ3) recently studied in the literature. We show that all these amplitudes can be viewed as equivalent, arising from a single function, the inverse string theory KLT kernel, evaluated at different kinematic points. In this way cubic colored scalars and pions become interchangeable through a procedure we call the α′ shift. The latter complements the δ shift proposed by Arkani-Hamed et al., and demonstrates an inherent equivalence of scattering amplitudes in different quantum field theories by embedding them in a common stringy framework.

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Phys. Rev. D 112, 085002– Published 6 October, 2025
  • Received 21 May 2025
  • Accepted 3 September 2025
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI. Funded by SCOAP3.

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