Designing Observables for Quantum Interference in Jets at Subleading Color

Abstract

The large-$N_c$ or topologically planar limit of gauge theories can be considered as a classical limit because all gauge bosons are distinguishable particles and therefore cannot exhibit interference. Quantum effects due to the flow of color therefore arise starting at subleading in $1/N_c$. We introduce kinematic observables explicitly sensitive to effects at subleading color formed from the ratio of interfering to squared color-ordered amplitudes. Such observables are in general not infrared and collinear safe, so we introduce angular observables defined from appropriate multi-point energy correlators motivated by the form of color-ordered amplitudes. We demonstrate that color interference effects are manifest as sinusoidal oscillation in the simplest system, a collinear jet with three particles, and show the limitations of predicting this observable in all-purpose, leading-color parton shower Monte Carlos.

19 pages, 5 figures; v2: updated comparison to parton shower simulation; v3: title change and other minor changes, SciPost version

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Cited by in corpus (1)

• Nucleon Energy Correlators for the Color Glass Condensate