Outer Space as a combinatorial backbone for Cutkosky rules and coactions

Abstract

We consider a coaction which exists for any bridge-free graph. It is based on the cubical chain complex associated to any such graph by considering two boundary operations: shrinking edges or removing them. Only if the number of spanning trees of a graph $G$ equals its number of internal edges we find that the graphical coaction $\Delta^G$ constructed here agrees with the coaction $\Delta_{\mathsf{Inc}}$ proposed by Britto and collaborators. The graphs for which this is the case are one-loop graphs or their duals, multi-edge banana graphs. They provide the only examples discussed by Britto and collaborators so far. We call such graphs simple graphs. The Dunce's cap graph is the first non-simple graph. The number of its spanning trees (five) exceeds the number of its edges (four). We compare the two coactions which indeed do not agree and discuss this result. We also point out that for kinematic renormalization schemes the coaction $\Delta^G$ simplifies.