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  • Open Access

Correlators Are Simpler than Wave Functions

Nima Arkani-Hamed1,*, Ross Glew2,†, and Francisco Vazão1,‡

  • *Contact author: arkani@ias.edu
  • †Contact author: r.glew@herts.ac.uk
  • ‡Contact author: fvvazao@ias.edu
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Phys. Rev. Lett. 137, 061601 – Published 7 August, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/sgm7-181s

Abstract

Recent works reveal a simplicity in equal-time correlators absent from wave functions. We show that it follows from the fact that correlators are full spacetime integrals rather than half-spacetime integrals as for the wave function. This makes striking properties manifest: some wave function singularities are absent, factorization simplifies, and around every pole the Laurent expansion has a vanishing first subleading term. Near the total-energy pole, the expansion to second order is generated by a differential operator on scattering amplitudes.

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Outline

Information

Phys. Rev. Lett. 137, 061601– Published 7 August, 2026
  • Received 16 January 2026
  • Revised 9 July 2026
  • Accepted 16 July 2026
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