On the one-loop curvature function in the $sl(2)$ sector of $\mathcal N=4$ SYM

Abstract

We consider twist $J$ operators with spin $S$ in the $sl(2)$ sector of $\mathcal N=4$ SYM. The small spin expansion of their anomalous dimension defines the so-called slope functions. Much is known about the linear term, but the study of the quadratic correction, the curvature function, started only very recently. At any fixed $J$, the curvature function can be extracted at all loops from the $\mathbf{P}\mu$-system formulation of the Thermodynamical Bethe Ansatz. Here, we work at the one-loop level and follow a different approach. We present a systematic double expansion of the Bethe Ansatz equations at large $J$ and small winding number. We succeed in fully resumming this expansion and obtain a closed explicit simple formula for the one-loop curvature function. The formula is parametric in $J$ and can be evaluated with minor effort for any fixed $J$. The result is an explicit series in odd-index $\zeta$ values. Our approach provides a complete reconciliation between the $\mathbf{P}\mu$-system predictions and the large $J$ approach.