Abstract
The coefficient of the dimensionally regularized two-loop divergence of (nonsupersymmetric) gravity theories has recently been shown to change when nondynamical three-forms are added to the theory, or when a pseudoscalar is replaced by the antisymmetric two-form field to which it is dual. This phenomenon involves evanescent operators, whose matrix elements vanish in four dimensions, including the Gauss-Bonnet operator which is also connected to the trace anomaly. On the other hand, these effects appear to have no physical consequences for renormalized scattering processes. In particular, the dependence of the two-loop four-graviton scattering amplitude on the renormalization scale is simple. We explain this result for any minimally-coupled massless gravity theory with renormalizable matter interactions by using unitarity cuts in four dimensions and never invoking evanescent operators.
- Received 28 January 2017
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.95.046013
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