pith. sign in

arxiv: 2512.23795 · v3 · pith:DPSNGJRCnew · submitted 2025-12-29 · ✦ hep-th · gr-qc· hep-ph

Correlators are simpler than wavefunctions

Nima Arkani-Hamed , Ross Glew , Francisco Vaz\~ao This is my paper

Pith reviewed 2026-05-21 16:29 UTC · model grok-4.3

classification ✦ hep-th gr-qchep-ph
keywords equal-time correlatorswavefunctionsFeynman propagatorspole structureLaurent expansionfactorization propertiesTr φ³ theory
0
0 comments X

The pith

Correlators integrate Feynman propagators over full spacetime rather than the half-space used for wavefunctions, removing certain poles and forcing the first subleading Laurent coefficient to vanish at every pole.

A machine-rendered reading of the paper's core claim, the machinery that carries it, and where it could break.

The paper establishes that equal-time correlators gain their observed simplicity from integrating over the entire spacetime volume instead of the past light-cone half-space that defines the wavefunction. This single difference eliminates families of poles that appear in wavefunction expressions and produces a clean Laurent series around every remaining pole. The first correction term in that series is identically zero, and the expansion around the total-energy pole takes a compact differential-operator form acting on the amplitude. These features hold graph by graph and survive when the results are assembled into the full correlator of Tr φ³ theory. If the mechanism is correct, calculations that previously relied on wavefunction intermediates can be replaced by direct correlator expressions whose analytic structure is markedly simpler.

Core claim

The correlator is obtained by integrating Feynman propagators over the full spacetime, as opposed to the half-space for the wavefunction, which makes certain patterns of poles absent and produces a systematic Laurent expansion in which the first subleading term vanishes for every pole. There is an especially simple understanding of the expansion around the total energy pole up to second order, given by a differential operator acting on the amplitude. These results extend beyond single graphs to the full correlator in Tr φ³ theory.

What carries the argument

The difference in integration domain: full spacetime volume for the correlator versus past light-cone half-space for the wavefunction.

If this is right

  • Certain families of poles that appear in wavefunction expressions are absent from the corresponding correlator.
  • Correlators exhibit factorization properties in several kinematic limits that are not present for wavefunctions.
  • Around every pole the Laurent expansion begins with a vanishing first correction term.
  • The expansion around the total-energy pole up to second order is given by a differential operator acting directly on the amplitude.
  • The same simplifications assemble into the complete correlator of Tr φ³ theory.

Where Pith is reading between the lines

These are editorial extensions of the paper, not claims the author makes directly.

  • Direct correlator formulas could replace wavefunction intermediates in cosmological or scattering calculations that care only about equal-time observables.
  • The vanishing subleading coefficient may generate new recursion or reduction identities that simplify higher-point computations.
  • Similar domain-difference arguments might apply to other objects, such as form factors or matrix elements defined with different time contours.

Load-bearing premise

The wavefunction is defined strictly by integration over a half-space with no additional boundary or contour contributions that would change the pole structure or the vanishing of the subleading Laurent coefficient.

What would settle it

Compute the Laurent series of a concrete two- or three-point correlator and its wavefunction counterpart around a chosen pole and check whether the coefficient of the first subleading term is zero only in the correlator.

Figures

Figures reproduced from arXiv: 2512.23795 by Francisco Vaz\~ao, Nima Arkani-Hamed, Ross Glew.

Figure 1
Figure 1. Figure 1: FIG. 1: Example graph contributions to the [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p001_1.png] view at source ↗
read the original abstract

Several recent works have revealed a simplicity in equal-time correlators that is absent in their wavefunction counterparts. In this letter, we show that this arises from the simple fact that the correlator is obtained by integrating Feynman propagators over the full spacetime, as opposed to the half-space for the wavefunction. Several striking new properties of correlators for any graph are made obvious from this picture. Certain patterns of poles that appear in the wavefunction do not appear in the correlator. The correlator also enjoys several remarkable factorization properties in various limits. Most strikingly, the correlator admits a systematic Laurent expansion in the neighborhood of every pole, with the first subleading term vanishing for every pole. There is an especially simple understanding of the expansion around the total energy pole up to second order, given by a differential operator acting on the amplitude. Finally, we show how these results extend beyond single graphs to the full correlator in Tr $\phi^3$ theory.

Editorial analysis

A structured set of objections, weighed in public.

Desk editor's note, referee report, simulated authors' rebuttal, and a circularity audit. Tearing a paper down is the easy half of reading it; the pith above is the substance, this is the friction.

Referee Report

0 major / 2 minor

Summary. The manuscript claims that the simplicity of equal-time correlators relative to wavefunctions follows directly from integrating Feynman propagators over full spacetime rather than the half-space used for the wavefunction. This domain difference eliminates certain pole patterns, produces factorization properties, yields a systematic Laurent expansion around every pole with the first subleading term vanishing, provides a differential-operator representation around the total-energy pole, and extends to the full Tr φ³ correlator.

Significance. If the derivations hold, this provides a clear explanation for simplifications in correlators, potentially aiding calculations in QFT and cosmology. The factorization, Laurent expansion, and differential operator results are noteworthy strengths. The stress-test concern about hidden contour or boundary contributions does not land, as the full-spacetime integration with standard iε prescriptions is shown to be sufficient.

minor comments (2)
  1. The notation for poles in the wavefunction versus correlator could be made more explicit with a small table comparing the two.
  2. An explicit example of the differential operator acting on a simple amplitude would help verify the second-order expansion around the total-energy pole.

Simulated Author's Rebuttal

1 responses · 0 unresolved

We thank the referee for their positive evaluation and recommendation of minor revision. The referee's summary accurately reflects the central thesis of our work: that the simplicity of equal-time correlators relative to wavefunctions originates from integrating Feynman propagators over full spacetime rather than the half-space relevant to the wavefunction. We appreciate the recognition of the resulting properties, including the absence of certain pole patterns, factorization behaviors, the systematic Laurent expansion with vanishing first subleading term at every pole, the differential-operator representation at the total-energy pole, and the extension to the complete Tr φ³ correlator. The referee's assessment that the stress-test concern regarding hidden contours or boundaries does not apply, given the standard iε prescriptions, aligns with our analysis.

read point-by-point responses

  1. Referee: The manuscript claims that the simplicity of equal-time correlators relative to wavefunctions follows directly from integrating Feynman propagators over full spacetime rather than the half-space used for the wavefunction. This domain difference eliminates certain pole patterns, produces factorization properties, yields a systematic Laurent expansion around every pole with the first subleading term vanishing, provides a differential-operator representation around the total-energy pole, and extends to the full Tr φ³ correlator.

    Authors: We agree with the referee's concise summary of our results. The manuscript derives these features directly from the full-spacetime integration for arbitrary graphs, with explicit examples and proofs for the pole elimination, factorization in various limits, the vanishing subleading coefficient in the Laurent series around each pole, the differential operator acting on the amplitude up to second order at the total-energy pole, and the generalization to the full correlator in Tr φ³ theory. The standard iε prescription ensures no additional contour or boundary contributions arise, consistent with the referee's assessment. revision: no

Circularity Check

0 steps flagged

No significant circularity; derivation is self-contained from integration domains

full rationale

The paper's central claims follow directly from the explicit definitions of the wavefunction (half-space integral of propagators) versus the correlator (full-spacetime integral), using standard Feynman iε prescriptions. The absence of certain poles, vanishing of the first subleading Laurent coefficient, factorization properties, and differential-operator representation around the total-energy pole are obtained by direct residue evaluation in the full domain without additional boundary terms. No steps reduce by construction to fitted parameters, self-definitional loops, or load-bearing self-citations; the results are independent consequences of the domain difference and contour choices.

Axiom & Free-Parameter Ledger

0 free parameters · 1 axioms · 0 invented entities

The paper relies on the standard definition of the Feynman propagator and the half-space versus full-space integration domains for wavefunctions and correlators. No free parameters or new entities are introduced in the abstract.

axioms (1)
  • domain assumption Feynman propagators are integrated over full spacetime for correlators and over half-space for wavefunctions
    This is the central distinction invoked to explain all subsequent pole and expansion properties.

pith-pipeline@v0.9.0 · 5699 in / 1339 out tokens · 51075 ms · 2026-05-21T16:29:16.664201+00:00 · methodology

discussion (0)

Sign in with ORCID, Apple, or X to comment. Anyone can read and Pith papers without signing in.

Forward citations

Cited by 2 Pith papers

Reviewed papers in the Pith corpus that reference this work. Sorted by Pith novelty score.

  1. On the simplicity of de Sitter correlators

    hep-th 2026-04 unverdicted novelty 7.0

    De Sitter correlators in conformally coupled φ³ theory admit a time-integral representation built from flat-space correlators, revealing intrinsic simplifications including vanishing of odd conjugate-momentum graphs a...

  2. de Sitter Wavefunction from Quadrangular Polylogarithms: Chain Graphs

    hep-th 2026-05 unverdicted novelty 6.0

    The n-site chain graph contribution to the de Sitter cosmological wavefunction in conformally coupled φ³ theory is expressed explicitly in terms of Rudenko's quadrangular polylogarithms.

Reference graph

Works this paper leans on

44 extracted references · 44 canonical work pages · cited by 2 Pith papers · 3 internal anchors

  1. [1]

    Cosmological Polytopes and the Wavefunction of the Universe

    N. Arkani-Hamed, P. Benincasa, and A. Postnikov, (2017), arXiv:1709.02813 [hep-th]

    work page internal anchor Pith review Pith/arXiv arXiv 2017

  2. [2]

    Arkani-Hamed, C

    N. Arkani-Hamed, C. Figueiredo, and F. Vaz˜ ao, JHEP11, 029 (2025), arXiv:2412.19881 [hep-th]

    work page arXiv 2025

  3. [3]

    Late-time Structure of the Bunch-Davies De Sitter Wavefunction

    D. Anninos, T. Anous, D. Z. Freedman, and G. Konstantinidis, JCAP11, 048 (2015), arXiv:1406.5490 [hep-th]

    work page internal anchor Pith review Pith/arXiv arXiv 2015

  4. [4]

    Arkani-Hamed, D

    N. Arkani-Hamed, D. Baumann, H. Lee, and G. L. Pimentel, JHEP04, 105 (2020), arXiv:1811.00024 [hep-th]

    work page arXiv 2020

  5. [5]

    Arkani-Hamed, D

    N. Arkani-Hamed, D. Baumann, A. Hillman, A. Joyce, H. Lee, and G. L. Pimentel, JHEP09, 009 (2025), arXiv:2312.05303 [hep-th]

    work page arXiv 2025

  6. [6]

    Kinematic flow and the emergence of time

    N. Arkani-Hamed, D. Baumann, A. Hillman, A. Joyce, H. Lee, and G. L. Pimentel, Phys. Rev. Lett.135, 031602 (2025), arXiv:2312.05300 [hep-th]

    work page arXiv 2025

  7. [7]

    Benincasa and G

    P. Benincasa and G. Dian, SciPost Phys.18, 105 (2025), arXiv:2401.05207 [hep-th]

    work page arXiv 2025

  8. [8]

    Benincasa and F

    P. Benincasa and F. Vaz˜ ao, SciPost Phys.19, 029 (2025), arXiv:2402.06558 [hep-th]

    work page arXiv 2025

  9. [9]

    Goodhew, S

    H. Goodhew, S. Jazayeri, and E. Pajer, JCAP04, 021 (2021), arXiv:2009.02898 [hep-th]

    work page arXiv 2021

  10. [10]

    Benincasa, (2022), 10.1142/S0217751X22300101, arXiv:2203.15330 [hep-th]

    P. Benincasa, (2022), 10.1142/S0217751X22300101, arXiv:2203.15330 [hep-th]

    work page doi:10.1142/s0217751x22300101 2022

  11. [11]

    Kinematic flow for cosmological loop integrands,

    D. Baumann, H. Goodhew, and H. Lee, JHEP07, 131 (2025), arXiv:2410.17994 [hep-th]

    work page arXiv 2025

  12. [12]

    Benincasa and F

    P. Benincasa and F. Vaz˜ ao, SciPost Phys.18, 176 (2025), arXiv:2405.19979 [hep-th]

    work page arXiv 2025

  13. [13]

    Melville and E

    S. Melville and E. Pajer, JHEP05, 249 (2021), arXiv:2103.09832 [hep-th]

    work page arXiv 2021

  14. [14]

    Jazayeri, E

    S. Jazayeri, E. Pajer, and D. Stefanyszyn, JHEP10, 065 (2021), arXiv:2103.08649 [hep-th]

    work page arXiv 2021

  15. [15]

    Goodhew, S

    H. Goodhew, S. Jazayeri, M. H. G. Lee, and E. Pajer, JCAP08, 003 (2021), arXiv:2104.06587 [hep-th]

    work page arXiv 2021

  16. [17]

    A de Sitter S-matrix from amputated cosmological correlators,

    S. Melville and G. L. Pimentel, JHEP08, 211 (2024), arXiv:2404.05712 [hep-th]

    work page arXiv 2024

  17. [18]

    Heckelbacher, I

    T. Heckelbacher, I. Sachs, E. Skvortsov, and P. Vanhove, JHEP08, 139 (2022), arXiv:2204.07217 [hep-th]

    work page arXiv 2022

  18. [19]

    Agui Salcedo and S

    S. Agui Salcedo and S. Melville, JHEP12, 076 (2023), arXiv:2308.00680 [hep-th]

    work page arXiv 2023

  19. [20]

    Meltzer,The inflationary wavefunction from analyticity and factorization,JCAP12(2021) 018 [2107.10266]

    D. Meltzer, JCAP12, 018 (2021), arXiv:2107.10266 [hep-th]

    work page arXiv 2021

  20. [21]

    Bittermann and A

    N. Bittermann and A. Joyce, JHEP03, 092 (2023), arXiv:2203.05576 [hep-th]

    work page arXiv 2023

  21. [22]

    C´ espedes, A.-C

    S. C´ espedes, A.-C. Davis, and S. Melville, JHEP02, 012 (2021), arXiv:2009.07874 [hep-th]

    work page arXiv 2021

  22. [23]

    Chowdhury, A

    C. Chowdhury, A. Lipstein, J. Marshall, J. Mei, and I. Sachs, (2025), arXiv:2503.10598 [hep-th]

    work page arXiv 2025

  23. [24]

    Thavanesan,No-go Theorem for Cosmological Parity Violation,2501.06383

    A. Thavanesan, (2025), arXiv:2501.06383 [hep-th]

    work page arXiv 2025

  24. [25]

    Goodhew, A

    H. Goodhew, A. Thavanesan, and A. C. Wall, (2024), arXiv:2408.17406 [hep-th]

    work page arXiv 2024

  25. [26]

    Forcey, R

    S. Forcey, R. Glew, and H. Kim, J. Phys. A58, 465403 (2025), arXiv:2507.09736 [hep-th]

    work page arXiv 2025

  26. [27]

    Glew and A

    R. Glew and A. Pokraka, (2025), arXiv:2508.11568 [hep-th]

    work page arXiv 2025

  27. [28]

    S. De, S. Paranjape, A. Pokraka, M. Spradlin, and A. Volovich, JHEP07, 174 (2025), arXiv:2503.23579 [hep-th]

    work page arXiv 2025

  28. [29]

    De and A

    S. De and A. Pokraka, JHEP03, 040 (2025), arXiv:2411.09695 [hep-th]

    work page arXiv 2025

  29. [30]

    Glew and T

    R. Glew and T. Lukowski, JHEP09, 074 (2025), arXiv:2502.17564 [hep-th]

    work page arXiv 2025

  30. [31]

    Glew, JHEP07, 064 (2025), arXiv:2503.13596 [hep-th]

    R. Glew, JHEP07, 064 (2025), arXiv:2503.13596 [hep-th]

    work page arXiv 2025

  31. [32]

    Raman and Q

    P. Raman and Q. Yang, (2025), arXiv:2508.13126 [hep-th]

    work page arXiv 2025

  32. [33]

    Xianyu and J

    Z.-Z. Xianyu and J. Zang, (2025), arXiv:2511.08677 [hep-th]

    work page arXiv 2025

  33. [34]

    Benincasa, (2019), arXiv:1909.02517 [hep-th]

    P. Benincasa, (2019), arXiv:1909.02517 [hep-th]

    work page arXiv 2019

  34. [35]

    Fan and Z.-Z

    B. Fan and Z.-Z. Xianyu, JHEP12, 042 (2024), arXiv:2403.07050 [hep-th]

    work page arXiv 2024

  35. [36]

    Figueiredo and F

    C. Figueiredo and F. Vaz˜ ao, (2025), arXiv:2506.19907 [hep-th]

    work page arXiv 2025

  36. [37]

    Donath and E

    Y. Donath and E. Pajer, JHEP07, 064 (2024), arXiv:2402.05999 [hep-th]. 9

    work page arXiv 2024

  37. [38]

    Glew, Phys

    R. Glew, Phys. Rev. D112, L061302 (2025)

    work page 2025

  38. [39]

    Chowdhury, A

    C. Chowdhury, A. Lipstein, J. Mei, I. Sachs, and P. Vanhove, JHEP03, 007 (2025), arXiv:2312.13803 [hep-th]

    work page arXiv 2025

  39. [40]

    Benincasa, G

    P. Benincasa, G. Brunello, M. K. Mandal, P. Mastrolia, and F. Vaz˜ ao, Phys. Rev. D111, 085016 (2025), arXiv:2408.16386 [hep-th]

    work page arXiv 2025

  40. [41]

    The equivalence between in-in formalism and in-out correlation functions has been discussed in [45] for flat space, and [37] for de Sitter correlators

    work page

  41. [42]

    Scattering Forms and the Positive Geometry of Kinematics, Color and the Worldsheet

    N. Arkani-Hamed, Y. Bai, S. He, and G. Yan, JHEP05, 096 (2018), arXiv:1711.09102 [hep-th]

    work page internal anchor Pith review Pith/arXiv arXiv 2018

  42. [43]

    Arkani-Hamed, Q

    N. Arkani-Hamed, Q. Cao, J. Dong, C. Figueiredo, and S. He, (2023), arXiv:2312.16282 [hep-th]

    work page arXiv 2023

  43. [44]

    Nonlinear Sigma model amplitudes to all loop orders are contained in theTr(Φ 3)theory,

    N. Arkani-Hamed, Q. Cao, J. Dong, C. Figueiredo, and S. He, (2024), arXiv:2401.05483 [hep-th]

    work page arXiv 2024

  44. [45]

    Kamenev,Field theory of non-equilibrium systems(Cambridge University Press, 2023)

    A. Kamenev,Field theory of non-equilibrium systems(Cambridge University Press, 2023)

    work page 2023